Greece will turn its clocks back one hour on Sunday, October 25, ending daylight saving time a week before most of the United States and briefly changing the time difference for families and businesses across the Atlantic.
At 4 a.m. in Greece, clocks return to 3 a.m. The country moves from Eastern European Summer Time, UTC+3, to Eastern European Time, UTC+2. The change reverses the move to summer time made on March 29.
For Greek Americans arranging calls home, the different calendars create a practical wrinkle: Athens will be six hours ahead of New York during the intervening week, rather than seven.
A one-week change for US calls
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology says daylight saving time ends on November 1 at 2 a.m. local time in American jurisdictions that observe it. New York City’s official notice confirms that date.
From October 25 through October 31, a call set for 6 p.m. in Athens corresponds to noon in New York, 11 a.m. in Chicago and 9 a.m. in Los Angeles. After those US cities change their clocks on November 1, the same Athens appointment falls at 11 a.m., 10 a.m. and 8 a.m., respectively.
The United Kingdom changes its clocks on October 25 too, at 2 a.m. local time, according to the British government. Greece therefore remains two hours ahead of Britain.
Why the clocks still change
The European Parliament’s 2019 support for ending seasonal clock changes did not by itself end the system. The Council of the European Union’s explanation, last updated in August 2026, says no final decision has been taken. Under the existing arrangements, EU members change back on the last Sunday in October. The clock adjustment shifts sunrise and sunset an hour earlier on the clock; it does not add daylight to the day.
For computer clocks, NIST advises keeping operating systems updated because the software applies local time-zone and daylight-saving rules.
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