Why Is Spain Not On Gmt?

Why Is Spain Not On Gmt
It may not surprise you to learn that Spaniards view time differently. An American visitor to Spain would quickly note that a local’s dinnertime isn’t often until 9 p. or later. After that, drinks at a bar or television-watching at home could last till 1 a.

on a weeknight;
To cope, some office workers will take both a midmorning coffee break and a midafternoon snooze — the jealousy-inducing “siesta;
” What’s perhaps more surprising is the news that this seemingly idyllic schedule is viewed as a problem by many in Spain;

And many place the blame on a time zone that is a relic of Spain’s fascist past. After months of speculation, Employment Minister Fátima Báñez announced this week that the government is working on a plan to get more workers out of the office at 6 p. , rather than being stuck at work until 8 or so, as many currently are.

Báñez said that one important part of that policy under consideration is a switch from Central European Time (CET) to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), under which the clocks would be put back permanently by one hour;

Take a look at a map and it is clear why. Shouldn’t Spain be in the same time zone as Britain, Ireland and Portugal, all relatively close to its longitude, rather than the time zone that stretches as far east as Poland or Norway’s border with Russia? Well, yes, of course, it probably should be.

And, in fact, when the country first standardized its time in 1900 after using solar time for centuries, it used GMT. It was only during World War II, in 1940, that Spain’s fascist leader, Francisco Franco, changed the time zone to CET so that the country could be line with Nazi Germany and its occupied lands.

After the war, Franco stayed in power until the 1970s. The clocks were never changed back. An example of the strange nature of the time zone can be seen in Galicia, in the far northwest of Spain, where the sun doesn’t rise until 9 a. in the winter. Only the Canary Islands, which sit about 60 miles west of Morocco, are granted the use of Western European Time, which is the same as GMT.

Such seemingly odd time zone policies aren’t unusual;
As WorldViews has noted before , there’s no central body that coordinates time zones according to science;
Time zones are political decisions;
That’s why Russia has 11 time zones but China has just one;

It’s why North Korea announced last year that it was setting the clocks back by half an hour for no reason, and why Nepal is the only country to have a time zone that is set to 45 minutes past the hour. But even if these time zones seem arbitrary, they affect how people live.

And many suggest that the unusual schedules kept by Spaniards — the long working hours, the late nights, the coffee breaks, the siestas — are a result of being in the wrong time zone. Humans are naturally built to understand the time of day by the amount of light, the reasoning goes, but the clocks told a different time — throwing people’s sleeping patterns out of sync with their working habits.

Worse still, many of Spain’s social traditions were set while the country was still agrarian, and many farmers worked according to a solar clock. A nice siesta may help deal with a long day, but the modern business world frowns upon the practice, essentially meaning that many Spanish adults end up working 11-hour days.

In 2013, a parliamentary subcommittee studying the dramatic-sounding “Rationalization of Hours, the Reconciliation of Personal, Family Life and Professional Life and Responsibility” released a report that proposed a return to GMT;

It found that all sorts of ills in the Spanish economy could be blamed on the time zone, which created a kind of widespread jet lag across society, with the average Spaniard sleeping an hour less than the World Health Organization recommends. The time zone “negatively affects many measures of productivity, such as absenteeism, stress, work accidents and school dropout rates,” the report noted.

Even Spain’s long-standing gender inequality could be partly attributed to the long hours expected from breadwinners;
It remains unclear whether Spain will actually make the leap;
Changing the time zone itself should be relatively simple;

Russia changed its comparatively complicated multi-zone system in 2011 — and changed it back in 2014. Spain’s governing People’s Party has the support of the opposition Socialist party and the Ciudadanos (Citizens) party. But changing an entire culture may be a little more complicated.

Why are Spain and France not GMT?

Spain shares the same time zone as France, Germany and Italy, yet this is due to a historic twist of fate which might soon be reversed. Looking at a map it would seem that it should in fact – based on geographical position – move to the same tempo as the United Kingdom rather than its neighbours. Like many other countries, Spain used to base itself around mean solar time – calculated based on the angle of the sun in the sky – until it made the change to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on December 31st 1900.

From then onwards time was standardised in all parts of Spain with the exception of the Canary Islands which retained solar time until 1922;
Before then, the time could be different from one corner of Spain to the other, based on their relative locations;

The country also adopted Daylight Saving Time in 1918, although it was not observed every year. It even became a political issue during the Spanish Civil War when, depending on who controlled the territory, clocks were changed on different dates. The Greenwich Observatory from which GMT is calculated | © nnes Yet the reliance on GMT persevered for 4o years, meaning Spain functioned on the same time as places like the United Kingdom, Portugal and Morocco. However, just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War and during the last year of the Spanish Civil War , the nationalist Falangist forces attempted to move away from GMT to align themselves with Nazi Germany. Though the move was ultimately blocked and GMT re-established in 1939, it didn’t take long for Franco’s government to soon attempt the move once again – this time more successfully.

On March 16th 1940, the clocks jumped from 23:00h to 00:00h to display the same time as Nazi Germany and other Nazi-occupied countries such as France and the Netherlands;
This was an entirely politically motivated move to show support to the fascist government of Germany and showed no consideration for the natural cycle of the sun in Spain;

According to the original 24-hour division of the world, Spain’s latitudinal position meant that GMT was the most natural time-zone for it to follow. Different time zones around the world | © leoplus Many in Spain believed that the clocks would eventually return to GMT when the war was over, yet this never happened. However, while the time may have changed, the pace at which Spaniards went about their daily life did not. As a result, if Spaniards once had their lunch at 1pm they continued to eat at the same time of day, though the clock now said 2pm. As a result, many believe that today Spain is living in the wrong time zone and that this historic move in 1940 is behind what is considered to be Spain’s relatively late schedule. Spain is considered to have a relatively late schedule | © ornello_pics Perhaps all this is about to change, as in 2016 the Prime Minister of Spain announced plans to return Spain to GMT. Aside from restoring the country to its original time zone, this move may help Spain do business with other European countries by aligning its working hours more closely with those of its neighbours.

Why is Spain not same time as UK?

The time UK and Europe SHOULD be the same Meanwhile, Spanish dictator Franco changed the time to an hour ahead in Spain too.

Does Spain use GMT?

Spain mainly uses Central European Time (GMT+01:00) and Central European Summer Time (GMT+02:00) in Peninsular Spain, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, Melilla and plazas de soberanía. In the Canary Islands, the time zone is Western European Time (GMT±00:00) and Western European Summer Time (GMT+01:00).

What is the weirdest time zone?

Nepal’s confusing time zone – Perhaps the nation with the most unusual time zone is Nepal, which runs GMT+5¾. In theory, it’s because mean time in Kathmandu – aka, the approximation across the year of when the sun is at its highest at noon – is 5 hours, 41 minutes and 16 seconds ahead of GMT.

Is Spain ever 2 hours ahead of UK?

Should Spain change time zones? Your thoughts: – You can change the hours to Pacific Standard Time and it still won’t matter. The Spanish will always find a way to work less, eat later, party harder. They have built a culture and a reputation around their ungodly hours.

And I hardly doubt they will change their lifestyle, and the tourism it generates, because of a technicality. Javier Brias, Madrid I am a Spaniard living in Catalonia, but my mother was born in the Canary Islands.

In the Canary Islands the time zone is the same as in London or Lisbon, but despite that we cannot say there is a significant difference in the productivity, absenteeism or stress of Canary Islanders in comparison with people on the peninsula. I don’t think a change in our time zone would make a difference in our lives or our productivity rates.

Nayra MarchÃin, Barcelona We live according to the sun, not the clock;
Lola Hidalgo Calle, Seville I live just south of Castellon, which has a roadside marker pointing out the exact spot where it aligns with Greenwich;

So, if the east coast of Spain coincides with London it makes perfect sense that the time be in line with Britain, Ireland and Portugal. Kieran McGrath, Valencia Spanish culture, like every other, is not governed by time zones. It is governed by tradition, their age-old normal way of doing things.

This report is nonsense. People eat, sleep and work according to the clock on their wall or the watch on their wrist. They do not eat one hour earlier in winter. God save us from so-called “experts”. Eric Jackson, Villar del Arzobispo I lived much of my childhood in Franco’s Spain and farmed in Mallorca in the 1980s – and I never noticed any problem with the time zone.

John Bartram, Broadstairs, UK.

Why is Portugal on GMT?

History [ edit ] – In the early 19th century, Portugal adopted mean solar time. Navy (located in Lisbon) and Coimbra Astronomical Observatories calculated solar time to be used as legal time in their longitude regions. In 1861, the Astronomical Observatory of Lisbon was founded and, in 1878, it was tasked with the exclusive competence of calculate its mean solar time and to transmit it to rest of the country’s public services.

Thus, in practice, Portuguese standard time was defined as the mean solar time at Lisbon Observatory longitude, which was later calculated as being GMT–00:36:45. In 1911, it was agreed that standard time in Portugal should be defined in accordance with the 1884 prime meridian system.

By the Decree of 26 May 1911, a reform was approved regarding standard time in Portugal and in its overseas Empire : although almost all continental Portugal is located west of the 7. 5°W meridian (i. in the theoretical zone of UTC-01:00 time zone), for mainland Portugal it was adopted UTC+00:00 as its time zone.

By the same law, UTC-02:00 time zone was adopted for the Azores and Cape Verde , UTC-01:00 for Madeira and Portuguese Guinea , UTC+00:00 for São Tomé and Príncipe and São João Baptista de Ajudá , UTC+01:00 for Angola , UTC+02:00 for Mozambique , UTC+05:00 for Portuguese India and UTC+08:00 for Macau and Portuguese Timor;

These time zones were adopted on 1 January 1912. Daylight saving time ( Hora de Verão , in Portuguese) was observed for the first time in 1916, during World War I , and it consisted in advancing clocks by 1 hour. In that year, DST was observed from 17 June to 1 November but in following years until 1921, it was observed from 1 June to 14 October.

DST continued to be observed every year in 1920s and 1930s, although some small interruptions had occurred (1922–1923, 1925, 1930 and 1933), as well as DST’s start and end dates which were often changed.

In the years 1942–1945, during World War II , Portugal, not only advanced clocks by 1 hour during DST, as also advanced them by another 1 hour during some months of those years, coming to have clocks 2 hours ahead of GMT, during that “double DST”.

Situation returned to normality after 1945, with the end of World War II , and normal DST continued to be observed. In 1948, it was approved that DST should be observed from the first Sunday in April to the first Sunday in October.

From 1966 on, DST started to be observed year-round, so that, in practice, Portugal changed its time zone from WET ( UTC+00:00 ) to CET ( UTC+01:00 ). However, due to the later sunrises and sunsets , many complaints accumulated: on winter mornings, people went to work under a completely dark sky and at 9:00, when school classes started, the sun was still rising, which eventually had repercussions on students’ school performance and their safety during morning trips from home to school.

Furthermore, in the 1970s, the idea of reintroducing DST as an energy saving measure gained strength in Europe as well as in Portugal. However, although there were so many complaints in the country with the use of UTC+01:00 year round, it became clear to policymakers that if DST was to be re-introduced, it could never be observed as CEST ( UTC+02:00 ), and the only solution was to re-adopt WET as standard time.

So, in 1976, Portugal adopted WET ( UTC+00:00 ) as its standard time. DST started to be observed every year as WEST ( UTC+01:00 ) usually from early April to later September. From 1981 on, DST started to be observed from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in September.

Why is there no time difference between UK and Tenerife?

TIME The Canary Islands use Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). This means the time zone is exactly the same as the UK while mainland Spain and other European countries are one hour ahead. Spring officially begins in March meaning the clocks go forward by one hour for daylight saving time.

They then go back one hour in late October. WATER Spain-Tenerife recommends that you do not drink water from the tap or public fountains in Tenerife. Canarians usually drink bottled water and we advise you do the same, large bottles and water containers are available throughout Tenerife.

Most of Tenerife drinking tap water comes from desalinated sea water and doesn’t have a good taste, it’s fine for bathing or washing clothes, etc. For drinking, tea, coffee or ice always use bottled water. Some people experience upset tummies and other digestive problems that possibly are caused by the tap water.

Why does Spain stay so late in light?

Spain’s clocks have been set to Central European time since World War II, which means the sun rises and sets later compared to countries in its region. Spaniards are notoriously late-night creatures.

When did Spain change its time zone?

It may not surprise you to learn that Spaniards view time differently. An American visitor to Spain would quickly note that a local’s dinnertime isn’t often until 9 p. or later. After that, drinks at a bar or television-watching at home could last till 1 a.

on a weeknight. To cope, some office workers will take both a midmorning coffee break and a midafternoon snooze — the jealousy-inducing “siesta. ” What’s perhaps more surprising is the news that this seemingly idyllic schedule is viewed as a problem by many in Spain.

Báñez said that one important part of that policy under consideration is a switch from Central European Time (CET) to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), under which the clocks would be put back permanently by one hour;

Such seemingly odd time zone policies aren’t unusual;
As WorldViews has noted before , there’s no central body that coordinates time zones according to science;
Time zones are political decisions;
That’s why Russia has 11 time zones but China has just one;

And many suggest that the unusual schedules kept by Spaniards — the long working hours, the late nights, the coffee breaks, the siestas — are a result of being in the wrong time zone. Humans are naturally built to understand the time of day by the amount of light, the reasoning goes, but the clocks told a different time — throwing people’s sleeping patterns out of sync with their working habits.

In 2013, a parliamentary subcommittee studying the dramatic-sounding “Rationalization of Hours, the Reconciliation of Personal, Family Life and Professional Life and Responsibility” released a report that proposed a return to GMT;

Even Spain’s long-standing gender inequality could be partly attributed to the long hours expected from breadwinners;
It remains unclear whether Spain will actually make the leap;
Changing the time zone itself should be relatively simple;

Will Spain change its timezone?

There are 2 different timezones in Spain. Countries with a large distance from West to East are often devided into two or more timezones to adjust daytimes to the position of the sun. Timezones are always computed relatively to UTC, the “Universal Time Coordinated”. In Spain exists a time difference of 1 hour between the East and the West.

They have a nationwide clock change from standard time to daylight saving time, where the clocks are switched forward by 1 hour in summer;
The next clock change in Madrid will be on October 30th, 2022 at 3:00 to standard time;

Back to overview: Spain.

What time would it be in Spain right now?

Current Local Time in Locations in Spain with Links for More Information (75 Locations)
Madrid *	Mon 11:49 pm
Mahón *	Mon 11:49 pm
Málaga *	Mon 11:49 pm
Marbella *	Mon 11:49 pm

Is all of Spain on the same time zone?

How Many Time Zones Are There in Spain? – All of continental Spain, including the capital Madrid , observes the same time zone. However, the Canary Islands , off the coast of Morocco , add a 2nd time zone to the country. Here, the local time is 1 hour behind the mainland.

Why is there no time difference between UK and Tenerife?

They then go back one hour in late October. WATER Spain-Tenerife recommends that you do not drink water from the tap or public fountains in Tenerife. Canarians usually drink bottled water and we advise you do the same, large bottles and water containers are available throughout Tenerife.

Why is Madrid an hour ahead of London?

So on Oct. 23, 1940, Hitler took a train to the Spanish border to woo Spain’s Fascist dictator, Francisco Franco. But Spain was in ruins from its own Civil War in the late 1930s, and Franco didn’t have much to offer. He stayed neutral, but switched Spain’s clocks ahead one hour, to be in line with Nazi Germany.

Why are Spain and Portugal in different time zones?

Why do Portugal and Spain have different time zones? – Although the two countries share a border and share the Iberian Peninsula, they have different time zones. Spain is in the GMT+1 time zone. That means that Spain is an hour ahead of Portugal. The reason behind this is the fact that Spain is already more than 15º to the east of the Greenwich Meridian, and so (as explained above) it fits in that time zone.

Why does Portugal use GMT?

By the same law, UTC-02:00 time zone was adopted for the Azores and Cape Verde , UTC-01:00 for Madeira and Portuguese Guinea , UTC+00:00 for São Tomé and Príncipe and São João Baptista de Ajudá , UTC+01:00 for Angola , UTC+02:00 for Mozambique , UTC+05:00 for Portuguese India and UTC+08:00 for Macau and Portuguese Timor.

Situation returned to normality after 1945, with the end of World War II , and normal DST continued to be observed;
In 1948, it was approved that DST should be observed from the first Sunday in April to the first Sunday in October;