Current Time in Berlin
Here is the current time in Berlin to the second. The label under the clock tells you whether Germany is on standard time (CET) or summer time (CEST).
Current time in Berlin
- IANA zone
- Current time in Berlin
- Mitteleuropäische Zeit (MEZ)
- Also called CET · CEST / MESZ · Europe/Berlin
- The German name for Central European Time, UTC+1. In summer Germany uses MESZ, Mitteleuropäische Sommerzeit, which is UTC+2 and known in English as CEST.
How Germany keeps its legal time
German law gives one institute the job of keeping the country's legal time: the PTB in Braunschweig. Its caesium clocks feed the DCF77 long-wave transmitter near Frankfurt, which radio-controlled clocks across much of Europe listen to. When summer time starts, those clocks jump forward by themselves.
The dates are the EU ones. Summer time begins at 2:00 AM on the last Sunday in March and ends at 3:00 AM on the last Sunday in October, both at 1:00 AM UTC.
- IANA zone
- Europe/Berlin
- Standard time
- CET · UTC+1
- Daylight saving time
- CEST · UTC+2
- Clocks go forward
- Sun, March 29, 2026 at 2:00 AM local time
- Clocks go back
- Sun, October 25, 2026 at 3:00 AM local time
- Clocks go forward
- Sun, March 28, 2027 at 2:00 AM local time
- Clocks go back
- Sun, October 31, 2027 at 3:00 AM local time
Berlin against other world cities
Most of continental Europe shares Berlin's clock, so a call to Paris, Rome, Vienna or Warsaw needs no arithmetic. The table below gives the gap to cities further away, in January and in July.
| City | In January | In July |
|---|---|---|
| Honolulu | −11 | −12 |
| Anchorage | −10 | −10 |
| Seattle | −9 | −9 |
| Denver | −8 | −8 |
| Vancouver | −8 | −9 |
| Houston | −7 | −7 |
| Lima | −6 | −7 |
| Toronto | −6 | −6 |
| Washington, D.C. | −6 | −6 |
| Buenos Aires | −4 | −5 |
| São Paulo | −4 | −5 |
| London | −1 | −1 |
| Amsterdam | 0 | 0 |
| Madrid | 0 | 0 |
| Paris | 0 | 0 |
| Zurich | 0 | 0 |
| Athens | +1 | +1 |
| Cairo | +1 | +1 |
| Johannesburg | +1 | 0 |
| Doha | +2 | +1 |
| Nairobi | +2 | +1 |
| Riyadh | +2 | +1 |
| Dubai | +3 | +2 |
| Delhi | +4:30 | +3:30 |
| Dhaka | +5 | +4 |
| Ho Chi Minh City | +6 | +5 |
| Kuala Lumpur | +7 | +6 |
| Manila | +7 | +6 |
| Perth | +7 | +6 |
| Shanghai | +7 | +6 |
| Taipei | +7 | +6 |
| Seoul | +8 | +7 |
| Brisbane | +9 | +8 |
| Melbourne | +10 | +8 |
| Sydney | +10 | +8 |
Hours to add to the time in Berlin; a minus sign means the other city is behind
Two gaps for the same city
Cities that change clocks on different dates, or never, have a winter gap and a summer gap with Berlin. Sydney is ten hours ahead in January but eight in July, and Dubai drops from three to two hours ahead when Germany moves to CEST.
Planning calls from Berlin
Berlin's working day overlaps well with the Gulf and India in the morning and with the US East Coast in the afternoon. A 3:00 PM call in Berlin is 9:00 AM in New York and 6:00 PM in Dubai for most of the year. For the full hour grid against Eastern Time, open the CET to EST converter; the Paris clock shows the same zone from France's side.
The German name for summer time is Sommerzeit, and the switch is often called Zeitumstellung.
Berlin time questions
What is the time difference between Berlin and London?
Berlin is one hour ahead of London throughout the year. Both countries start and end summer time at the same instant, so the gap never changes.
Does Germany change its clocks twice a year?
Yes. Clocks go forward an hour on the last Sunday in March and back an hour on the last Sunday in October, together with the rest of the EU.
Which German cities use a different time from Berlin?
None. All of Germany, from Hamburg to Munich, keeps one time zone and changes on the same dates.
Where does Germany's official time come from?
From the atomic clocks of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig, which broadcasts it by the DCF77 radio signal.
Is Berlin ahead of or behind New York?
Ahead, usually by six hours. For a few weeks in spring and autumn the gap is five hours, because the US switches on other Sundays.