In mainland Portugal and in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, the clocks have to be moved back by one hour when the time reaches 02:00, the time then becoming 01:00.
In the Autonomous Region of the Azores, the change occurs at 01:00, the clocks being moved back to 00:00.
Although electronic devices that are connected to the network make the adjustment automatically, analogue clocks need to have the setting changed manually.
Biological clock
The issue is still being debated within the European Union, and while a number of member states support getting rid of the change of time seasonally, the EU directive is still in effect, and there has not yet been a definite decision to give up the practice of changing the time.
It should also be mentioned that although switching back to winter time results in sunrises and sunsets occurring earlier, it is possible for adjusting one's biological clock to temporarily affect sleep, concentration, and fatigue.













It is not Winter Time, it is the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST) and a return to normal time, which is GMT for Portugal. For me it would be wonderful is DST was scrapped altogether.
By Tom from Lisbon on 15 Oct 2026, 05:59