When do clocks change, and which MENA countries are affected?

As spring approaches, countries across the world are preparing to move their clocks forward for Daylight Saving Time (DST), a shift that signals longer evenings and shorter nights. This year, the global switch takes place on Sunday, 30 March.

While the practice is widely adopted in parts of Europe, North America, and Australia, it is not observed in most Asian and African nations. But in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the picture is far from uniform.

While some governments continue to implement the seasonal change, others have scrapped the practice altogether — and a few still shift policies year by year.

Daylight Saving Time, originally designed to maximise daylight hours and reduce energy use, has long been a contentious topic in the region.

In Lebanon, it’s been a source of political drama. In 2023, the government sparked chaos by announcing a last-minute delay to DST, citing religious considerations. The move led to a temporary split in time zones across the country as airlines, tech companies, and even media outlets chose to stick to the original plan.

Since then, Lebanon has returned to a more conventional approach and is expected to move clocks forward on Sunday, in line with most European countries, with DST ending in late October.

Similarly, Palestine – the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip – will observe DST from Sunday until October. 

Further east, Iran has seen its own oscillations on the matter. The Iranian parliament voted to cancel DST in 2022, but implementation has remained inconsistent. Officially, the country no longer shifts clocks, although observers say government agencies have not always updated schedules accordingly, leaving public confusion in its wake.

Syria, which once observed DST, has abandoned the practice entirely and now maintains a fixed time zone year-round, joining regional neighbours like Jordan and Iraq in rejecting seasonal clock changes.

Meanwhile in the Gulf, most countries have rejected the idea of clock changes altogether.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman all maintain a fixed time year-round, seeing little value in seasonal shifts given their relatively consistent daylight hours and high temperatures.

North African nations have also diverged. Morocco technically observes DST for most of the year but suspends it during the holy month of Ramadan, when the clock is pushed back by an hour to shorten fasting days. After Eid, the country resumes DST until October.

Algeria and Tunisia on the other hand have long since abandoned the practice and stick to a standard time throughout the year.

In Egypt, the situation has changed repeatedly. The government scrapped DST in 2015 after years of back-and-forth, arguing that the benefits were marginal.

However, it re-implemented the switch in 2023, following a law ratified by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in a bid to reduce electricity consumption during peak summer months. The switch takes place on the last Friday of April until the last Thursday of October.