Technical Specifications & Standards
Official chronometric properties, ISO standards, and international database registry identifiers for Western European Time:
Daylight Saving Time (DST) Transitions
⬆️ Spring Forward (Clocks Advance)
Last Sunday in March at 01:00 AM UTC (Clocks advance to WEST)
⬇️ Fall Back (Clocks Return)
Last Sunday in October at 02:00 AM UTC (Clocks return to WET)
Observing Jurisdictions & Subdivisions
5 Sovereign NationsSovereign nations, administrative subdivisions, and regional territories officially operating under WET:
Regional Subdivisions & Territory Details
Financial Markets & Trading Hours
Lisbon equity and sovereign bond desks operate simultaneously with London markets, giving Portuguese bankers frictionless settlement across the European trading day.
Local Hours: 08:00 - 16:30 WET
UTC Window: 08:00 - 16:30 UTC
Major Cities in WET
Primary metropolitan centers and financial hubs observing this time zone:
Adoption History & Astronomical Facts
Year Established: 1912
Portugal aligned with the Greenwich Prime Meridian in 1912. Between 1992 and 1996, the government attempted an experiment by switching Portugal to Central European Time to align with Brussels and Frankfurt. The shift was widely unpopular because Lisbon mornings remained dark until almost 09:00 AM in mid-winter, prompting parliament to restore Western European Time.
Spain's Canary Islands sit geographically off the Moroccan coast and maintain Western European Time year-round, always standing exactly one hour behind mainland Madrid and Barcelona.
Frequently Asked Questions about WET
Is WET the same time as GMT and UTC?
Yes. Western European Time shares the exact same UTC+0 offset as Greenwich Mean Time. While GMT is historically based in the British Isles, WET is the official designation applied to Portugal and the Canary Islands.
Does Portugal observe Daylight Saving Time?
Yes. In late March, Portugal and Madeira advance their clocks by one hour to Western European Summer Time (WEST, UTC+1), returning to WET in late October.
Why are the Canary Islands in a different time zone from mainland Spain?
The Canary Islands lie roughly 1,000 kilometers southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, near the southern Moroccan border. Keeping the islands on WET keeps their solar clock roughly aligned with actual local noon.