People in Spain will lose an hour of sleep this weekend, but will see more daylight when the clocks change on Sunday. The change affects everyone living in Spain, including expats and travellers, and means the country will officially shift to summer time. The daylight saving time adjustment in Spain is scheduled for the early hours of Sunday, March 29.

At 02:00, clocks on the mainland and Balearics will be advanced one hour to 03:00. Meanwhile, in the Canary Islands, the change occurs at 01:00, moving forward to 02:00. The change happens twice a year, with the transition to summer time nearly set to take place. It will last until Sunday, October 25, when Spain will revert to standard time. But this change could be the last seasonal clock adjustment in Spain and across Europe as the Government rallies to abolish this practice by 2026 due to health and energy concerns.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has cited scientific evidence that it disrupts sleep and does not save energy.

However, the proposal has not yet received final approval from the European institutions.

In 2018, the European Commission conducted a public consultation involving 4.6 million participants, with 84% favouring an end to the twice-yearly clock changes.

But Spain’s plan to end daylight saving time has not been without setbacks.

Some EU countries have raised concerns about potential disruption to commerce and cross-border coordination if neighbouring nations adopt different time zones.

Spain is geographically aligned with Greenwich Mean Time but has observed Central European Time since 1940.