Morocco runs on two clocks every year
One for daily life. One for Ramadan. The country stays on UTC+1 most of the year, then drops back to UTC+0 for the holy month. Clocks go back when Ramadan begins and forward again after Eid al-Fitr.
Outside Ramadan, Morocco aligns with most of Western Europe in winter. During Ramadan, it aligns with the United Kingdom and Ireland. The reason is practical: the shift keeps the daily fast shorter by the civil clock. Dawn arrives later, sunset arrives later, and the fasting window feels less punishing even though the astronomical day length does not change.
When does Morocco change its clocks for Ramadan 2026?
The Islamic calendar is lunar. Ramadan begins roughly 11 days earlier each Gregorian year. The Moroccan government announces the precise dates a few weeks beforehand, and the IANA time zone database records the changes based on those official decrees.
For 2026, the dates are:
| Event | Date (2026) | Time change |
|---|---|---|
| DST pause begins | 18 February 2026 | Clocks go back from UTC+1 to UTC+0 at 03:00 local time (becoming 02:00) |
| DST resumes | 21 March 2026 | Clocks go forward from UTC+0 to UTC+1 at 02:00 local time (becoming 03:00) |
These dates come from the Moroccan Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, published in the official bulletin. The IANA database reflects them in the Africa/Casablanca and Africa/El_Aaiun zones.
Does Morocco change working hours during Ramadan?
Yes. The clock change is only half the story. Government offices and many businesses cut working hours during Ramadan. The shift means sunrise and sunset both land an hour later by the civil clock. The fast starts later in the morning and ends later in the evening.
For anyone scheduling across borders, the offset flip is the part that trips people up. A meeting you normally hold at 3pm your time with someone in Casablanca (when Morocco is on UTC+1) moves to 2pm Moroccan time during Ramadan because the country is back on UTC+0. You add an hour to your calculation.
Airlines adjust published timetables to match. A Casablanca arrival time printed on a ticket during Ramadan is in UTC+0. Outside Ramadan, the same flight shows UTC+1.
Why Morocco suspends DST instead of scrapping it
Morocco is the most prominent country that actually suspends DST for Ramadan rather than staying on a single year-round offset. Saudi Arabia and the UAE do not observe DST at all. Egypt reintroduced DST in 2023 but does not pause it for Ramadan.
The Moroccan model is a compromise: keep the economic benefits of longer evening daylight most of the year, then ease the burden of fasting during the holy month. The one-hour rollback shortens the fast by the clock. The sun does not care.
What Morocco’s Ramadan clock shift means for your schedule
Check whether Ramadan is active before you schedule anything with someone in Morocco. The fastest method: look up the current time for Casablanca or Rabat on a time zone converter that pulls from IANA data. During Ramadan, the offset reads UTC+0. Outside Ramadan, UTC+1.
Ramadan dates slide each year. For 2027, expect the pause to begin around 8 February and end around 10 March, subject to official confirmation. The IANA database will lock in the exact dates once the government decree drops.
For developers: use Africa/Casablanca or Africa/El_Aaiun in your code. Never hardcode an offset. The zone rules handle both the annual Ramadan pause and the permanent DST outside it. The offset changes twice a year, and the exact dates shift annually.