# Daylight Saving 2026: Why US–Europe Meetings Shift — WherOra

> Europe falls back Oct 25, the US on Nov 1. For one week New York–London is 4 hours apart, not 5. See what shifts and how to fix recurring meetings.
>
> Markdown version of https://wherora.com/guides/daylight-saving-gap-weeks/ for AI agents and assistants. Live clocks and interactive tools need JavaScript: open the page in a browser to use them.

GUIDES · DAYLIGHT SAVING 2026

# Daylight Saving Time 2026: Why Your US–Europe Meetings Shift for One Week

Updated October 31, 2026

Other countries change on other dates: see [every clock change in autumn 2026](https://wherora.com/guides/daylight-saving-time-dates/).

## Quick answer

Europe and the UK set clocks back on **Sunday, October 25, 2026**. The US and most of eastern Canada wait until **Sunday, November 1**. For the seven days in between, [New York](https://wherora.com/time/new-york/) is 4 hours behind [London](https://wherora.com/time/london/) instead of 5, and recurring meetings between the two move by an hour for one side. After November 1, the usual gap returns.

## Update, October 31, 2026

**Not all of Canada changes its clocks any more.** From November 2026, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and northwestern Ontario stop changing their clocks (as Saskatchewan and Yukon already had), so only most of Ontario, Quebec, the Atlantic provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador and most of Nunavut fall back on November 1. Planning further ahead? See [every daylight saving change in 2027](https://wherora.com/guides/daylight-saving-time-2027/).

Most calendars handle this automatically, which is exactly why it catches people out: the invite updates, but nobody notices that it did. This guide shows what moves, who sees the change, and how to plan around it.

## The 2026 clock-change dates

Europe switches one week before North America, and it does so all at once.

| Region | Clocks go back | When exactly |
| --- | --- | --- |
| UK and EU | Sunday, October 25, 2026 | 01:00 UTC everywhere at the same moment (2:00 am in London, 3:00 am in [Paris](https://wherora.com/time/paris/) and [Berlin](https://wherora.com/time/berlin/)) |
| US and most of eastern Canada | Sunday, November 1, 2026 | 2:00 am local time, so each zone switches an hour after the one to its east |

The rules behind the dates are fixed in law. The EU and UK end summer time on the last Sunday of October. The US ends daylight saving time on the first Sunday of November, a rule in place since 2007. Those two Sundays are always exactly one week apart, so the gap comes back every autumn. Most other European countries, including Norway, Switzerland and Ukraine, switch with the EU. Iceland, Türkiye, Belarus and Russia do not change their clocks at all.

## What changes during the gap week (October 25–31)

Between Europe and any US or Canadian city that uses daylight saving time, the difference shrinks by one hour for seven days.

| City pair | Until Oct 24 | Oct 25–31 | From Nov 1 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [New York – London](https://wherora.com/meeting/?cities=new-york,london&at=2026-10-27T14%3A00%3A00Z&duration=60&view=meeting) | 5 hours | **4 hours** | 5 hours |
| [New York – Paris / Berlin](https://wherora.com/meeting/?cities=new-york,paris&at=2026-10-27T14%3A00%3A00Z&duration=60&view=meeting) | 6 hours | **5 hours** | 6 hours |
| [Chicago / Houston – London](https://wherora.com/meeting/?cities=chicago,london&at=2026-10-27T14%3A00%3A00Z&duration=60&view=meeting) | 6 hours | **5 hours** | 6 hours |
| [Los Angeles – London](https://wherora.com/meeting/?cities=los-angeles,london&at=2026-10-27T16%3A00%3A00Z&duration=60&view=meeting) | 8 hours | **7 hours** | 8 hours |
| [Los Angeles – Berlin](https://wherora.com/meeting/?cities=los-angeles,berlin&at=2026-10-27T16%3A00%3A00Z&duration=60&view=meeting) | 9 hours | **8 hours** | 9 hours |

Each city pair opens in the WherOra meeting planner on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.

Sydney springs forward on October 4, Europe falls back on October 25 and the US on November 1. Shaded bars mark a changed offset.

The gap week also changes how much of the working day you share. With both offices on 9 to 5:

- **New York and London** share 3 hours on a normal week (9 am to noon in New York). During the gap week they share 4 hours.
- **Los Angeles and London** normally share no working hours at all. During the gap week they share one: 9 to 10 am in [Los Angeles](https://wherora.com/time/los-angeles/), 4 to 5 pm in London.

So the gap week is not only a hazard. For West Coast teams it can be the easiest week of the autumn to meet Europe.

## What happens to your recurring meetings

Whose calendar moves depends on who created the invite. Google Calendar and Outlook store a recurring meeting in the organizer's time zone, so the organizer's time stays fixed and everyone else absorbs the change.

### If the organizer is in New York

The meeting repeats at 10:00 am New York time.

#### Until Oct 24

New York**10:00 am**

London**3:00 pm**

#### Oct 25–31

New York**10:00 am**

London**2:00 pm**

London moves an hour earlier

#### From Nov 1

New York**10:00 am**

London**3:00 pm**

### If the organizer is in London

The meeting repeats at 3:00 pm London time.

#### Until Oct 24

London**3:00 pm**

New York**10:00 am**

#### Oct 25–31

London**3:00 pm**

New York**11:00 am**

New York moves an hour later

#### From Nov 1

London**3:00 pm**

New York**10:00 am**

The calendar is right in both cases. The problem is people: an attendee who knows the meeting as "always at 3" may not open the invite, and someone else may book over the new slot.

Two cases need extra care:

- **Meetings pinned to UTC or GMT.** These move for both sides at different times: once for Europe on October 25 and once for North America on November 1.
- **Times written in text, not in a calendar.** Deadlines in emails, contracts, webinar pages and support rotas ("calls close at 5 pm ET") never update themselves.

## Lessons from past clock changes

Time changes go wrong in the same few ways, and the history shows each one.

### 2007: the US moves its dates, and calendars break

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 made US daylight time start three weeks earlier and end one week later from 2007 ([Automation World](https://www.automationworld.com/products/software/news/13301990/daylight-saving-time-changes-can-cause-problems)). Software written for the old rules put recurring appointments an hour off during those extra weeks. Microsoft told Outlook users in the US and Canada to treat appointments in that period "as suspect" until they had checked with every invitee ([CBC](https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/daylight-time-change-brings-mini-y2k-to-computers-1.681431)). Journalists compared it to a small-scale Y2K. It also created the autumn gap week: before 2007, both sides fell back on the last Sunday of October.

Lesson: confirm recurring cross-border meetings with attendees, don't just trust the invite.

### 2010: iPhone alarms ignore the change, one region at a time

A bug in iOS 4.1 made repeating alarms ring an hour off after a clock change. New Zealand and Australia saw it first, in late September and early October; Europe woke up an hour late on November 1, and the US was next in line a week later ([CNN, 2010](https://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/11/01/iphone.alarm.europe/index.html), [Macworld](https://www.macworld.com/article/208844/dst_bug_iphone.html)). Because each region switches on a different date, one bug became three separate mornings of chaos.

Lesson: staggered dates stagger the problems too. A fix for Europe's week may not have reached your colleagues' week.

### 2022: Mexico drops daylight saving time days before the change

Mexico's Senate voted in the last week of October to end the practice, and the law took effect on October 30 ([Bloomberg Línea](https://www.bloomberglinea.com/english/mexico-abolishes-daylight-saving-time/)). Most of the country stopped changing clocks, but many northern border municipalities kept following the US schedule ([Mexico News Daily](https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/senate-approves-legislation-to-eliminate-daylight-saving-time/)). Anyone scheduling with Mexico had to relearn which cities moved and which did not.

Lesson: check the specific city, not the country. One country can have two rules.

### 2023: Lebanon ends up with two times at once

The government delayed daylight time by a month, announcing it days before the switch. Churches, TV channels and many businesses refused, and the country woke up on two clocks ([Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/26/lebanon-awakes-to-two-times-of-day-amid-daylight-savings-dispute)). Beirut airport listed the same flight at two departure times, and phones disagreed depending on the vendor ([CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/27/lebanon-in-two-different-time-zones-as-government-disagrees-on-daylight-savings.html)). The decision was reversed within days ([CNN, 2023](https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/27/middleeast/lebanon-reverses-daylight-savings-decision-intl/index.html)).

Lesson: late rule changes can outrun software updates. When a change is announced at short notice, confirm times in writing with the other side.

## It's not only US–Europe

Autumn in the north is spring in the south, so some time differences change two or three times in a few weeks.

| City pair | Until Oct 3 | From Oct 4 (Sydney forward) | From Oct 25 (Europe back) | From Nov 1 (US back) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| New York – [Sydney](https://wherora.com/time/sydney/) | 14 hours | 15 hours | 15 hours | **16 hours** |
| London – Sydney | 9 hours | 10 hours | **11 hours** | 11 hours |

New Zealand moves even earlier, on September 27. Brisbane and the rest of Queensland do not change at all, so Sydney and Brisbane are an hour apart all summer.

Many places never change their clocks: India, Japan, China, [Singapore](https://wherora.com/time/singapore/), most of Arizona, Hawaii and, since 2022, most of Mexico. For them, only the other side's change matters. For example:

- **London – Mumbai** goes from 4.5 to 5.5 hours on October 25.
- **New York – Mumbai** goes from 9.5 to 10.5 hours on November 1.
- **Phoenix** matches Los Angeles time in summer and Denver time in winter, without touching its own clocks.

[See New York, London, Mumbai and Sydney side by side on October 27 →](https://wherora.com/convert/?cities=new-york,london,mumbai,sydney&at=2026-10-27T14%3A00%3A00Z&duration=60&view=convert)

## Checklist: before October 25

- List every recurring meeting that includes both North America and Europe.
- For each one, note who organized it. That tells you which side sees the time move.
- Decide per meeting: keep the time for one side, or move it for the week so both sides keep their usual slot.
- Tell attendees on the side that moves, with the new local time for October 26–30.
- Check anything written as text: deadlines, shift rotas, webinar pages, auto-replies with "call us before 5 pm ET".
- Check teams in Australia and New Zealand too. Their offset changed in late September and early October.
- Set a reminder for November 1, when the US and eastern Canada switch and the usual gap returns.

## Next up: the spring 2027 gap

The spring gap is longer. The US moves clocks forward on Sunday, March 14, 2027; Europe follows on Sunday, March 28. For those two weeks New York is again 4 hours behind London.

The spring gap is always two or three weeks, depending on the calendar. In 2026 it ran three weeks, from March 8 to March 29. This page will be updated with a full spring table in February.

## Will the US stop changing its clocks?

Not yet. As of September 26, 2026, the US will still fall back on November 1.

The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent, passed the US House on July 14, 2026. It now sits with the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which has not voted on it. According to [FOX 29](https://www.fox29.com/news/daylight-saving-time-2026-will-our-clocks-still-fall-back-year), it would need to pass the Senate and be signed before November 1 to stop this autumn's change. States that already stay on standard time, such as Hawaii and most of Arizona, would keep their exemption.

Supporters want more evening daylight and an end to schedule disruptions. Sleep medicine groups, including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, argue that permanent standard time would be healthier.

**What it would mean for this page:** with permanent daylight time, New York would stay at UTC−4 all year. It would be 4 hours behind London every winter and 5 hours behind every summer. The one-week gap would disappear, but the US–Europe difference would still change twice a year, on Europe's dates.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why is London only 4 hours ahead of New York this week?

The UK sets its clocks back on October 25, 2026, but the US does not until November 1. Until then, New York is still on daylight time and the gap is one hour smaller.

### Does Google Calendar or Outlook adjust meetings automatically?

Yes. A recurring meeting normally stays fixed in the organizer's time zone and every attendee's view updates, so the meeting moves by an hour for attendees on the other side of the Atlantic.

### When exactly do clocks change in 2026?

The UK and EU go back at 01:00 UTC on Sunday, October 25, 2026. The US and most of eastern Canada go back at 2:00 am local time on Sunday, November 1, 2026.

### Which places don't change their clocks?

India, Japan, China, Singapore, Iceland, Türkiye, Russia, Hawaii, most of Arizona and most of Mexico, among others. Their time differences with other places still change, because the other side moves.

### When is the next gap?

In spring 2027, from March 14 to March 28, when the US has moved its clocks forward and Europe has not.

### Is daylight saving time ending in the US?

Not yet. A bill to make it permanent passed the House in July 2026 but has not passed the Senate. Clocks still go back on November 1, 2026.

## See your own gap week

Put your cities side by side on any date and WherOra shows the exact offset, including daylight saving changes on either side.

[New York and London during the gap week →](https://wherora.com/meeting/?cities=new-york,london&at=2026-10-27T14%3A00%3A00Z&duration=60&view=meeting)[Los Angeles and London: the one shared hour →](https://wherora.com/meeting/?cities=los-angeles,london&at=2026-10-27T16%3A00%3A00Z&duration=60&view=meeting)[New York, London, Mumbai and Sydney together →](https://wherora.com/convert/?cities=new-york,london,mumbai,sydney&at=2026-10-27T14%3A00%3A00Z&duration=60&view=convert)[New York – London comparison page →](https://wherora.com/compare/new-york-london/)[Guide: every clock change in autumn 2026 →](https://wherora.com/guides/daylight-saving-time-dates/)[Guide: how to schedule fair meetings across time zones →](https://wherora.com/guides/fair-meetings-across-time-zones/)[Guide: time zone abbreviations explained →](https://wherora.com/guides/time-zone-abbreviations/)[All WherOra guides →](https://wherora.com/guides/)

Then use **Share link** to send the exact times to your team, or **Add to calendar** to download the meeting.

## Sources

- [Directive 2000/84/EC on summer-time arrangements](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32000L0084) (EUR-Lex)
- [Daylight Saving Time 2026 in the United States](https://www.timeanddate.com/time/change/usa) (timeanddate.com)
- [Daylight saving time 2026: Will our clocks still fall back this year?](https://www.fox29.com/news/daylight-saving-time-2026-will-our-clocks-still-fall-back-year) (FOX 29, September 21, 2026)
- [Daylight time change brings mini Y2K to computers](https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/daylight-time-change-brings-mini-y2k-to-computers-1.681431) (CBC, 2007)
- [Daylight Saving Time Changes Can Cause Problems](https://www.automationworld.com/products/software/news/13301990/daylight-saving-time-changes-can-cause-problems) (Automation World, 2007)
- [iPhone gives Europe extra hour of sleep](https://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/11/01/iphone.alarm.europe/index.html) (CNN, 2010)
- [Apple offers advice on iPhone alarm bug](https://www.macworld.com/article/208844/dst_bug_iphone.html) (Macworld, 2010)
- [Mexico Abolishes Daylight Saving Time](https://www.bloomberglinea.com/english/mexico-abolishes-daylight-saving-time/) (Bloomberg Línea, 2022)
- [Senate approves legislation to eliminate Daylight Saving Time](https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/senate-approves-legislation-to-eliminate-daylight-saving-time/) (Mexico News Daily, 2022)
- [Daylight savings time dispute puts Lebanon in two timezones](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/26/lebanon-awakes-to-two-times-of-day-amid-daylight-savings-dispute) (Al Jazeera, 2023)
- [Lebanon wakes up in two simultaneous time zones](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/27/lebanon-in-two-different-time-zones-as-government-disagrees-on-daylight-savings.html) (CNBC, 2023)
- [Lebanon reverses decision on Daylight Saving](https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/27/middleeast/lebanon-reverses-daylight-savings-decision-intl/index.html) (CNN, 2023)

## Compare city pairs

[See shared working hours for all pairs →](https://wherora.com/compare/)

North America ↔ Europe

- [New York–London](https://wherora.com/compare/new-york-london/)
- [Chicago–London](https://wherora.com/compare/chicago-london/)
- [Toronto–London](https://wherora.com/compare/toronto-london/)
- [Dallas–London](https://wherora.com/compare/dallas-london/)
- [New York–Berlin](https://wherora.com/compare/new-york-berlin/)

North America ↔ Asia & Pacific

- [New York–Tokyo](https://wherora.com/compare/new-york-tokyo/)
- [New York–Manila](https://wherora.com/compare/new-york-manila/)
- [New York–Mumbai](https://wherora.com/compare/new-york-mumbai/)
- [New York–Sydney](https://wherora.com/compare/new-york-sydney/)
- [Los Angeles–Tokyo](https://wherora.com/compare/los-angeles-tokyo/)
- [Los Angeles–Manila](https://wherora.com/compare/los-angeles-manila/)
- [Chicago–Manila](https://wherora.com/compare/chicago-manila/)
- [Toronto–Manila](https://wherora.com/compare/toronto-manila/)
- [San Francisco–Mumbai](https://wherora.com/compare/san-francisco-mumbai/)
- [San Francisco–Bengaluru](https://wherora.com/compare/san-francisco-bengaluru/)

Europe ↔ Asia & Middle East

- [London–Dubai](https://wherora.com/compare/london-dubai/)
- [London–Singapore](https://wherora.com/compare/london-singapore/)
- [London–Tokyo](https://wherora.com/compare/london-tokyo/)

Close time zones

- [New York–Los Angeles](https://wherora.com/compare/new-york-los-angeles/)
- [San Francisco–Austin](https://wherora.com/compare/san-francisco-austin/)
- [New York–Buenos Aires](https://wherora.com/compare/new-york-buenos-aires/)
- [Berlin–Lisbon](https://wherora.com/compare/berlin-lisbon/)
- [Singapore–Sydney](https://wherora.com/compare/singapore-sydney/)
- [Dubai–Mumbai](https://wherora.com/compare/dubai-mumbai/)

Badges show how far ahead or behind the second city is today.

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Source: https://wherora.com/guides/daylight-saving-gap-weeks/ · Site guide for agents: https://wherora.com/llms.txt · How times are calculated: https://wherora.com/about/methodology/