Time zone · Europe
BST
British Summer Time
British Summer Time is the United Kingdom’s daylight-saving advance on standard Greenwich clocks, centred on London and running one hour ahead of UTC until it falls back in late October.
Friday, June 5, 2026
Current offset
UTC+01:00
Daylight · BST
Daylight saving
Active
Reverts 25 Oct 2026
IANA zones
1
1 observe DST, 0 don't
DST offset
—
No summer variant
About BST
Standard time, with a summer shift.
British Summer Time is the United Kingdom’s daylight-saving advance on standard Greenwich clocks, centred on London and running one hour ahead of UTC until it falls back in late October.
IANA zones · the technical identifiers
The zone that resolve to BST.
For software, always store the IANA identifier — never the abbreviation alone. The database keeps these zones distinct because their rules can, and historically did, diverge.
Cities currently on BST
The same hour, city by city.
10 cities · all UTC+01:00
Where BST is used
One country.
Same offset · UTC+01:00
Other zones at UTC+01:00 right now.
These named zones share BST's offset today. When daylight saving rules differ, they drift apart for part of the year.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about BST, daylight saving, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- When exactly do clocks go forward in the UK?
- Clocks spring forward an hour in late March—this year on 29 March at 2 a.m. local time—switching from Greenwich Mean Time to British Summer Time.
- When exactly do clocks go back in the UK?
- Each autumn, clocks fall back on the last Sunday of October—this year on 25 October—returning to Greenwich Mean Time at 2 a.m.
- What does BST feel like for traders in London?
- During BST, London markets overlap with both the late morning in New York and the full European morning, making for vibrant and fast-moving sessions.
- How does BST align with Continental Europe?
- In summer, British Summer Time matches Central European Summer Time, so London’s midday lines up perfectly with Frankfurt and Paris.
- Does the whole UK use BST uniformly?
- Yes—all of Britain springs forward and falls back together; there are no internal exceptions to daylight saving.
- Is BST unique to the United Kingdom?
- Although the trend started from wartime UK practice, BST is now used officially only in Britain, giving it a distinctly British flavour.
- Do any British territories keep BST all year?
- No—every UK territory that uses BST also reverts to GMT in winter, though experimentations with permanent BST have been debated.
- Why was BST introduced historically?
- BST began as a wartime measure to reduce evening lighting needs and better use daylight, later formalised in peacetime law.
Free · Developer API
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