Spain’s Plan to End the Clock Change Faces Backlash

Spain’s plan to end the twice-yearly clock change has reignited a long-running scientific and political debate. While Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez argues that shifting the clocks no longer saves energy, researchers warn that dropping the adjustment could push Spain even further out of sync with the sun—and with itself.

Spain’s government takes aim at the clock

In a video posted on social media, Pedro Sánchez confirmed that Spain will ask the European Council to permanently end the seasonal time change. He cited two main arguments: studies showing that daylight-saving time (DST) no longer produces measurable energy savings, and surveys suggesting that most Europeans find the biannual switch disruptive. In an EU consultation of 4.6 million people, 84 percent voted to abolish it.

But what time would Spain keep?

The prime minister did not specify whether the country would remain on “summer time” (GMT + 2) or “winter time” (GMT + 1). This decision matters: Spain’s clocks are already set one hour ahead of its natural solar position. Geographically, the peninsula aligns with the Greenwich Meridian, meaning that by solar logic, Spain should observe the same time as Portugal and the UK. Without a zone correction, scientists warn, the reform could worsen Spain’s daylight imbalance.

Regional extremes: Galicia versus the Balearics

Keeping summer time all year might delight evening strollers in Madrid—but in Galicia, sunrise in January would not arrive until nearly 10 a.m. By contrast, in the Balearic Islands, daylight would begin before 6 a.m. and fade before supper. The mismatch could disrupt schooling, work schedules and even broadcasting hours. Experts suggest that such inequalities might force Spain to consider flexible timetables or even regional time splits, a logistical headache that few want to imagine.

Why scientists oppose the reform

Chronobiologists argue that clock changes, while inconvenient, serve an essential biological purpose. José María Martín Olalla, a physicist at the University of Seville, calls the seasonal shift “a synchroniser that adapts human activity to daylight across the year.” His research with Jorge Mira Pérez at the University of Santiago de Compostela shows that societies have always tweaked working hours to match solar cycles—even the 1810 Cortes de Cádiz discussed seasonal timekeeping.

The circadian question

Modern sleep science has repeatedly shown that humans function best when their waking hours coincide with natural light. Late sunrises delay melatonin suppression and reduce morning alertness, particularly in children and shift workers. Long-term misalignment increases risks of obesity, depression and cardiovascular disease. “Eliminating the change without realigning the time zone means institutionalising jet lag,” one Spanish sleep researcher warned.

Short-term pain versus long-term balance

Neurophysiologist Elena Urrestarazu from the Clínica Universidad de Navarra stresses that adjusting to a new schedule takes most people just a few days. “The short-term tiredness is a small price to pay for synchronising with daylight,” she explained. According to studies in *PNAS*, staying permanently on a winter-aligned standard time could prevent hundreds of thousands of strokes and metabolic disorders worldwide each year.

The risk of choosing convenience over biology

For many Spaniards, later sunsets feel culturally natural. But experts fear that prioritising social habits over solar alignment could deepen chronic fatigue and productivity loss. As Martín Olalla put it, “Ending the change without correcting our offset from the sun is like closing Pandora’s box only halfway.”

What happens next

The proposal will be debated at European level in 2025, and any reform would likely require coordination among member states. For now, Spain will again set its clocks back one hour on the night of October 25 to 26 — perhaps for the last time, or perhaps just another reminder that time politics rarely run on schedule.

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