For one week every October, a peculiar kind of confusion sweeps across boardrooms, family living rooms, and virtual conference calls that span the Atlantic. If you’ve ever found yourself scratching your head over a missed Zoom call with colleagues in London or wondering why your grandmother in Paris is calling an hour earlier than usual, you’re not alone. According to the Associated Press, this annual moment of perplexity is all thanks to the misaligned clock change dates between Europe and the United States—a quirk that briefly shortens the usual time difference by an hour.
The root of this time-twisting phenomenon lies in the way daylight saving time is observed on both continents. In the United Kingdom and across Europe, clocks are set back by one hour at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in October. This year, that’s October 26, 2025. Meanwhile, the United States and Canada wait until 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November—in 2025, that falls on November 2. For these seven days, the time gap between cities like London and New York or Paris and Chicago is one hour less than usual, a subtle shift that can easily upend international schedules.
As the Boston Herald puts it, “Every October, there’s a week when Europe and the U.S. are out of sync with daylight saving time, potentially confusing people organizing international meetings.” The confusion isn’t just theoretical; it’s a practical headache for anyone juggling transatlantic appointments, flights, or live broadcasts. Suddenly, that 9 a.m. call in New York is at 1 p.m. in London, not the usual 2 p.m.—a small difference, but one that can mean the world when time is tight.
Daylight saving time itself is a relatively modern invention, though the idea of shifting clocks to make better use of daylight dates back several centuries. It wasn’t until World War I that the concept became law in many countries. According to the Associated Press, “Europe first adopted it during World War I as a wartime measure to conserve energy. Germany and Austria began moving their clocks by an hour in the summer of 1916. The U.K. and other countries involved in the war followed soon after, as did the United States and Canada.” The logic was simple: more daylight in the evenings meant less need for artificial lighting, saving precious fuel during wartime shortages.
Since then, the practice has stuck around, though not without controversy. Over the decades, countries have tweaked the rules and dates for changing the clocks, sometimes in the name of energy savings, sometimes for public health, and sometimes just to keep up with neighbors. In Europe, efforts to synchronize the clock changes have been largely successful within the European Union. As of 2002, all EU member states adjust their clocks on the same days in March and October, reducing confusion across the continent itself, if not across the Atlantic.
But the rest of the world hasn’t always followed suit. In the United States, a 1966 law established a uniform daylight saving time nationwide, but the actual dates for the spring forward and fall back have shifted several times over the years. The current schedule was set by Congress in 2005, as reported by the Associated Press. The law mandates that clocks “fall back” on the first Sunday in November and “spring forward” on the second Sunday in March.
This lack of global coordination means that, for one week each year, the world’s most transatlantic economies and families are briefly out of step. According to the Boston Herald, “This creates a temporary one-hour change in the time difference between London and New York, for example.” For businesses that operate on both sides of the ocean, this can mean rescheduling meetings, adjusting trading hours, and sending out reminders to avoid costly mistakes.
The confusion isn’t limited to the corporate world. Anyone with friends or family living abroad may find themselves caught off guard. That early-morning call from a loved one? It’s not a mistake—just the result of clocks that haven’t quite caught up with each other yet. Even international broadcasters and airlines need to tread carefully during this week, double-checking schedules to make sure everyone’s on the same page.
Not everyone is a fan of these seasonal clock changes. The debate over the merits of daylight saving time has raged for decades, with strong opinions on both sides. Proponents argue that longer summer evenings mean more time for outdoor activities and less energy consumption. Critics, however, point to studies suggesting that the benefits are minimal and that the disruption to sleep and daily routines can be harmful, especially for children and the elderly.
Lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic have taken notice. In 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a measure to make daylight saving time permanent, effectively ending the biannual clock changes. However, as reported by the Associated Press, “it did not advance.” The proposal stalled, leaving the current system in place for the foreseeable future. In Europe, too, there have been calls to abolish the seasonal switch, but no final decisions have been made as of October 25, 2025.
“Many do not agree on the benefits of the seasonal time changes, and lawmakers in the U.S. and Europe have previously proposed getting rid of the time change altogether. So far no changes have been finalized,” the Associated Press notes. The arguments are familiar: some see the time change as an outdated relic, while others worry about the consequences of making daylight saving time permanent, such as darker winter mornings.
For now, the annual week of confusion remains a fixture of the international calendar. If you find yourself missing a call, showing up an hour early, or just feeling a bit off-kilter this week, take comfort in knowing you’re in good company. It’s a reminder of how even small differences in policy can ripple across borders, affecting everything from business deals to birthday wishes.
As the world continues to debate the future of daylight saving time, one thing is certain: for one week each October, time itself becomes a little more slippery, and everyone—whether in New York, London, or anywhere in between—has to pay just a bit more attention to the clock.
