For eight years, Morocco has lived with a clock set closer to much of Europe than to its own traditional timetable. Now, after years of public debate and criticism, the North African country is preparing to move its official time back to Greenwich Mean Time, ending a permanent one-hour advance that had reshaped daily schedules since 2018.
Prime Minister Aziz Ajanuch announced that Morocco would return on September 20 to the legal GMT time zone established by King Hassan II in 1967. The decision, which comes three days before the next legislative elections, follows sustained complaints from citizens who argued that the GMT+1 system disrupted everyday life without delivering clear benefits.
The announcement was reported by El País in its coverage of Morocco’s time reform, highlighting how a measure initially intended to align the country more closely with European economic partners became a source of social controversy. Morocco has historically maintained close links with European timekeeping, first during the period of French and Spanish protectorates and later through its economic and diplomatic relationships with Europe.
After independence, Morocco adopted GMT as its legal time zone, corresponding with the Greenwich meridian that passes through parts of western Europe and North Africa. The country later introduced seasonal clock changes during the 1970s and 1980s, following European energy-saving practices. A summer time adjustment was brought back between 2008 and 2018, before the government introduced the permanent GMT+1 schedule.
Under that system, Morocco shared the same winter time as cities including Madrid, Paris, and Berlin, while maintaining a one-hour difference during the rest of the year compared with places such as the Canary Islands, Lisbon, and London. The change was intended to strengthen synchronization with key economic partners, particularly Spain, Morocco’s leading commercial partner, and France, its largest investor.
Ajanuch had previously supported closer alignment with those countries, but he said the decision to restore GMT reflected “the demands of citizens,” who viewed the current arrangement as a difficulty in their daily lives. The government’s decision came after years of criticism focused on the practical effects of the time change, including concerns about sleep patterns, health, and the organization of family and school schedules.
From this autumn, Morocco will once again move away from the central European time zone used from Galicia to Poland. During winter, the country will operate one hour behind that zone, and during summer it will be two hours behind, following a timetable similar to Iceland’s relationship with European clocks.
For many Moroccans, the issue has been closely tied to the rhythm of ordinary life. Critics of the GMT+1 system argued that the earlier sunrise and darker mornings created difficulties, particularly during winter months when children and workers could begin their days before daylight. The National Campaign for the Return to Standard Time gathered more than 300,000 signatures calling for the restoration of GMT, and the government’s announcement marked a response to those demands after years of public pressure.
Morocco’s relationship with time has also remained flexible because of religious observances. Although the country maintains the same official clock throughout the year, it adjusts the time during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month whose timing changes according to the lunar calendar. In the most recent Ramadan period, clocks were moved back by one hour between February 15 and March 22 to make the evening iftar meal, which breaks the daily fast after sunset, easier to manage and to extend the period of rest before the early morning suhur meal.
The return to GMT will also affect visitors and international connections. European tourists traveling to Morocco must pay attention to the country’s changing relationship with neighboring time zones. During some periods, travelers have encountered multiple time differences within a single journey. Between September 20, when Morocco changes its clocks, and October 25, when Europe moves to its winter schedule, the difference between Morocco and much of Europe will temporarily reach two hours.
The timing of the reform places it alongside other major developments in Morocco’s political calendar. The country is approaching legislative elections expected in September, while other reforms, including changes to the Family Code intended to strengthen women’s rights, remain pending parliamentary approval after receiving support from Islamic legal scholars in 2024.
With the restoration of GMT, Morocco will return to the time system that defined its official schedule for decades. The decision ends the eight-year period of permanent GMT+1 and places the country once again on the traditional standard time that authorities say responds to citizen concerns over the way the clock shapes daily life.
