Germany changes time twice a year. We let you know when to put your clocks forward and back.
In Germany there is a summer time and a winter time. On the last weekend in March, the clock is changed to summer time. On the last weekend in October, the clock is changed to winter time. Below you will find an overview of the next time changes in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
- Sunday, 29th October 2023: Change from summer to winter time. The clock will be put back to 02:00 on Saturday night at 03:00. The night will be one hour longer. It will be lighter earlier in the morning, but darker earlier in the evening.
- Sunday, 31st March 2024: Change from winter to summer time. The clock will be put forward from 02:00 to 03:00 on Saturday night. The night will be one hour shorter. It will be darker in the morning, but the light will last longer in the evening.
- Sunday, 27th October 2024: Change from summer time time to winter time.
- Sunday, 30th March 2025: Change from winter time to summer time.
- Sunday, 26th October 2025: Change from summer time to winter time.
Why is the time being changed?
The time change was introduced in the EU in 1980 to save on electricity costs. The basic idea is to make more efficient use of daylight by making the days longer, so that less electricity is needed. However, according to the German Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt), this measure may be useless, because people turn on the heating earlier when it is darker and colder in the morning, and the extra consumption caused by the heating may offset the savings in electricity costs.