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Russia, Brazil, Turkey and 10 more countries that stopped changing their clocks

Countries that abolished daylight saving time took different paths, and these 13 examples show which kept summer time and which settled on standard time

Ending daylight saving time is only half a decision. Once a government stops moving its clocks twice a year, it still has to choose which time to keep. That second choice decides whether the clock favors brighter mornings or later evening light.

In this selection, most countries that abolished daylight saving time settled on permanent standard time, the setting their clocks used outside the summer months. Brazil took that route by presidential decree in April 2019. Mexico passed a law in October 2022 that ended seasonal clock changes for most of the country. China, Japan, India and Kyrgyzstan also keep standard time all year.

A smaller group made the summer offset permanent, an approach sometimes called permanent daylight time. Turkey ended seasonal clock changes in 2016 and kept UTC 3, its former summer time, as its year-round setting. Belarus took the same step in 2011 and has held UTC 3 ever since.

Russia tried both. In March 2011, under President Dmitry Medvedev, the country moved to permanent summer time. In October 2014, under President Vladimir Putin, it switched to permanent standard time. Most of its zones shifted back one hour. The reversal shows that the choice of which time to keep can be reopened after the clocks stop moving.

Ending clock changes has not been a one-way trend. Egypt went the other way in 2023 and reintroduced daylight saving time.

The 13 countries in this slideshow are a selection, not a complete list of countries that do not observe daylight saving time. They span Europe, Asia and the Americas. Some ended the practice decades ago. Japan, for example, ran daylight saving time during the U.S. occupation from 1948 to 1951 and then abolished it. Others, including Brazil and Mexico, acted far more recently.

Each slide explains what one country dropped and what it uses now. Iceland stays on Greenwich Mean Time all year, even though UTC 0 sits further east than its solar position suggests. Argentina last used daylight saving time in 2009 and now holds at UTC-3.

Russia's switch from permanent summer time to permanent winter time

Russia stopped changing its clocks in March 2011 by staying on summer time all year. In October 2014 it reversed course and settled on permanent standard, or winter, time instead.

The first change came under President Dmitry Medvedev. In March 2011, Russian clocks moved forward for summer as they had in earlier years. That autumn, they stayed where they were instead of falling back. That spring shift turned out to be the last routine seasonal change of the period.

Permanent summer time holds clocks one hour ahead of standard time in every season. During the summer months, clock times matched the old routine. The change showed up in winter, when sunrise arrived an hour later by the clock than it would under standard time.

For people who start work or school at a fixed clock hour, that start fell closer to sunrise, or before it. The hour of light moved to the late afternoon instead.

That arrangement lasted until October 2014. Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia then moved to permanent standard time. Most of its time zones shifted back one hour. The reversal did not apply uniformly across the country. Not every zone made the same one-hour move.

In the zones that shifted, the trade-off flipped. Winter mornings now get light an hour earlier by the clock than they did under the summer-time setting. Summer evenings lose that hour, with daylight ending an hour earlier by the clock than it did from 2011 to 2014.

The 2014 move was a one-time adjustment, not a return to seasonal changes. Clocks went back once and then stayed put. Residents faced one final autumn shift and none after it.

Russia has kept permanent standard time, with no seasonal clock changes, since the October 2014 switch. Since then, the clock readings for sunrise and sunset in each zone have moved only with the seasons.

Turkey's decision to stay on UTC 3 year-round

Anna Berdnik / Unsplash

Turkey stopped changing its clocks in 2016 and kept its former summer time as the permanent setting. The country now runs on UTC 3 all year, three hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time.

Before the change, Turkey followed the same seasonal pattern as much of Europe. Its clocks sat at UTC 2 in winter and moved forward one hour to UTC 3 in summer. Ending the switch left the clocks on the summer setting through every winter that followed.

Most countries in this selection returned to standard time instead. Turkey locked in the offset it had once used only during the warmer months.

The practical effect shows up most clearly in winter. With clocks one hour ahead of the old standard time, sunrise arrives an hour later by the clock in the darker months. Evenings keep that extra hour of daylight in exchange.

Geography shapes how that trade-off lands. Turkey stretches a long way from west to east. UTC 3 matches solar time at the 45th meridian east, close to the country's eastern border. Istanbul sits near the 29th meridian east, about 16 degrees west of that line. That gap puts clock time in Istanbul roughly an hour ahead of the sun.

The decision also changed Turkey's time relationship with its western neighbors. Greece and Bulgaria, both European Union members, still move their clocks twice a year between UTC 2 and UTC 3. In summer, Istanbul, Athens and Sofia share the same time. In winter, Turkey runs one hour ahead of both countries.

To the south, the picture is more settled. Iraq also stays on UTC 3 all year. Its border with Turkey carries no time difference in any season. Syria moved to permanent UTC 3 in 2022 and now matches Turkey year-round as well.

Farther east, the gap runs the other way. Georgia and Armenia both use UTC 4, which puts them one hour ahead of Turkey all year.

Belarus ending clock changes in 2011

Egor Kunovsky / Unsplash

Belarus stopped changing its clocks in 2011 and has stayed on UTC 3 ever since. Instead of falling back to standard time each autumn, the country made its former summer offset the permanent setting.

Before the change, Belarus followed the seasonal pattern used across much of Europe. Its clocks ran on UTC 2 in winter and moved forward to........

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