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When do the clocks change in October 2026? The day winter time arrives in Aragon

As autumn begins to make itself felt in Aragon, temperatures drop, afternoons grow shorter and the cierzo wind returns to Zaragoza’s streets. A small ritual also comes back to homes every year: changing the clocks. Although phones, computers and other devices now make the adjustment automatically, there is always a wall clock, alarm clock or appliance to remind us that the time has come. And even though it happens twice a year, the same question always arises: when do the clocks change?
By Emma Falcón Ricart · 15/09/2026
When do the clocks change in October 2026? The day winter time arrives in Aragon

The 2026 time change to welcome winter time will take place in the early hours of Saturday, October 24, into Sunday, October 25. That is when Aragon, like the rest of Spain, will leave summer time behind.

¿DO CLOCKS GO FORWARD OR BACK IN THE OCTOBER TIME CHANGE?

With the arrival of winter time in 2026, clocks must be set back one hour. When the hands show 3.00 a.m. on Sunday, October 25, they will return to 2.00 a.m. So people in Aragon will be able to enjoy an extra hour that night, and the last Sunday in October will exceptionally have 25 hours.

This adjustment will also quickly become noticeable in everyday life. Sunrise will come earlier, but it will also get dark earlier in the afternoon, creating the feeling of shorter days. The change will be especially noticeable when leaving work or school, when daylight will begin to disappear earlier in Zaragoza, Huesca and Teruel.

¿HOW LONG WILL THE TIME CHANGE CONTINUE IN SPAIN?

The future of the time change has sparked debate in Spain and across the rest of Europe for years, but for now there is no date set for its abolition. The European Union continues to apply the system under which summer time begins on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October.

In fact, the European Commission published the calendar for summer-time periods from 2027 to 2031 in March 2026, in accordance with current European regulations. Under those dates, the changes to summer time are scheduled for March 28, 2027, March 26, 2028, March 25, 2029, March 31, 2030, and March 30, 2031.

Meanwhile, the return to winter time is scheduled for October 31, 2027, October 29, 2028, October 28, 2029, October 27, 2030, and October 26, 2031. Therefore, unless the European Union approves a change to the regulations beforehand, the small ritual of moving the clock hands will continue to be part of autumn in Aragon for the next few years.

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