Clock change in Finland 2026 – when do the clocks go back?
See when the clocks change next in Finland, whether they go forward or back, and how many days there are until then. The chart shows how sunrise and sunset jump with the clock where you are, from Helsinki to Utsjoki.
Summer time (kesäaika) ends in Finland on Sunday 25 October 2026, when the clocks go back one hour from 04:00 to 03:00. Finland then returns to standard time (normaaliaika, often called winter time), which is UTC+2. The clocks go forward again on Sunday 28 March 2027 from 03:00 to 04:00, to UTC+3. Under the EU summer-time directive the change is always on the last Sunday of March and of October at 01:00 UTC, at the same moment in every EU country.
What does the clock change mean for daylight in Finland?
In autumn you get an extra hour of sleep, and evenings get dark an hour earlier by the clock. In Helsinki the sun sets at 17:46 on Saturday 24 October 2026 and at 16:43 on Sunday 25 October: the day itself gets only 3 minutes shorter, the rest is the clock change. In Rovaniemi sunset moves from 17:15 to 16:11, and in Utsjoki from 16:48 to 15:43. On Sunday 28 March 2027 sunset in Helsinki moves from 18:51 to 19:54. The next changes are on 31 October 2027, 26 March 2028, 29 October 2028, 25 March 2029, 28 October 2029, 31 March 2030 and 27 October 2030.
Loading the tool…
Ratkaisija is a Finnish site with free tools. All tools in English
All tools in English →The dates follow the EU directive on summer-time arrangements, and the local times the Finnish Government's announcements. Sunrise and sunset are calculated for each town.
The European Commission proposed ending the seasonal clock changes on 12 September 2018, and the European Parliament backed it in March 2019. The Council of the EU has not reached its position, so no final decision has been taken and there is no timeline. As long as the directive is in force, Finland cannot stop the changes on its own.
Phones and computers usually change their clocks themselves when automatic time is on. The clocks on an oven, a microwave, a car or a wristwatch often have to be changed by hand.
Summer time is kesäaika and standard time normaaliaika, in everyday speech talviaika (winter time). Finland has used summer time since 1981.