Between October 24th and 25th, to be precise between 02:00 and 03:00 at night, we will return to standard time. We will sleep an hour more (only for the first night) and we will have more light in the morning, but in the evening it will get dark earlier. The fact-finding investigation of the Chamber of Deputies rejected the double seasonal change, recommending the start of an experimental phase.
The night between Saturday 24 And Sunday 25 October 2026 officially comes into force solar time in Italy and throughout the European Union: at 03:00 in the morning the hands will move back one hour (becoming 02:00), giving us an extra hour of sleep for the first night. The time change will bring both sunrise and sunset forward by 60 minutes, thus leading us to have more sunlight in the early morning but “shortening” the days in the late afternoon.
Barring any changes, standard time should remain in force until the last Sunday of March, which next year corresponds to March 28, 2027. In reality, the time change twice a year was failed from the fact-finding investigation conducted by the tithe Commission of the Chamber of Deputies: the alternation between summer time and standard time was in fact considered surmountable “due to the critical issues, of a health and organizational nature, that the transition phase determines in the days immediately following the change”.
The Commission, however, did not comment on the possibility of returning permanent daylight saving time or, on the contrary, permanent solar time. The choice, therefore, remains open: among the final recommendations there is also the launch of one experimental phaseas well as the opening of new discussions at European level. Some countries close to us, among other things, have already abolished this alternation, such as Russia (which has adopted solar time all year round since 2014) or Turkey (solar time abolished in 2016).
What time does Standard Time return on October 25, 2026
Between Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October 2026, solar time will officially start: the hands will have to be moved back an hourwith the 03:00 of the morning that will become the 02:00. The change will happen simultaneously throughout the European Union: More specifically, solar time is expected to come into force in all EU countries at 1:00 UTC (coordinated universal time, i.e. the Greenwich time zone), which in Italy corresponds to 3:00 in the morning.
As always, only the analog clocks will need to be moved manually to align with the new time: all digital watcheslike those present on smartphones, Yes they will update automaticallywithout the need for any intervention.
What changes by moving the hands back 60 minutes
Solar time is defined as such because follows the apparent motion of the Sunplacing midday (i.e. 12) around the moment in which the Sun reaches The highest point in the sky. This is in fact the “natural” time, which allows you to take advantage of natural lighting in the early hours of the morning. Move the hands back 60 minutes, then, advance by an hour be the time ofsunrise that of sunset: as a result, we will find ourselves with an extra hour of light in the early morning, losing an hour of light in the evening.
In Italy alternation with summer time (the “summer” time) was first tested in 1916, but it is officially in force since 1966. This change of time twice a year, however, affects our rhythms, electricity consumption and also the organization of our societies.
That’s why in recent years there have been intensify the discussions for a possible elimination of the alternation between summer time and standard time: already in 2019 the European Parliament had expressed its desire to abolish the seasonal transition, but the procedure has stalled over the years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, above all, the difficulty in defining a common calendar at European level.
In March 2026 the Italian Parliament launched a fact-finding investigation to investigate the possibility impact of permanent daylight saving time on the national territory, with a focus on the possible effects and repercussions on the productive sectors: on the front of energy consumptionTerna data indicates that the current regime (with seven months of summer time) produces a savings of approx 302 GWh per year. The extension of summer time to the winter months would add another 160 GWh, for a total of approximately 462 GWh, equal to approximately 0.15% of the national electricity requirement.
In economic terms, we are talking about approximately 120 million euros for 2026, of which 80 million refer to the April-October period already in force. The document highlights, however, that this benefit yes it is progressively reduced over the last twenty yearsespecially due to the spread of LED bulbs and low-energy lighting systems.
The conclusions of the 10th Commission (Production activities, trade and tourism) recommended the start of a trial phase of summer time, supported by a multidisciplinary monitoring system on energy consumption, road safety, predatory crimes, health, productivity and sectoral and territorial impacts, together with a resumption of negotiations to abolish the double seasonal change.
