Overview
- The clock change will take place in the night of 24–25 October 2026 when clocks are set back from 03:00 to 02:00, following the EU rule that fixes the switch to the last Sunday in October.
- The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig provides the legal timescale with its atomic clocks and monitors the process remotely, while the PTB transmitter in Mainflingen sends the minute-by-minute signal that instructs devices to update.
- PTB says the shift is a long-established, largely automated routine that has run since about 1980 and that staff perform pre-switch checks to ensure the broadcast and receivers are correctly programmed.
- People should expect practical effects such as one extra hour of sleep but also short-term circadian disruption for children, shift workers and pets, and a higher chance of wildlife encounters during darker commute hours that can raise road risks.
- The change reflects an EU-wide timetable that has remained in force since 1996 even as debate about ending seasonal clock moves continues, so travelers, rail operators and owners of manual clocks should prepare now for the automatic switch.