The Canary Islands use UTC+0 during winter, under Western European Time (WET). In summer, the islands generally switch to Western European Summer Time (WEST), which is UTC+1.
The Canary Islands are part of Spain, but they do not use the same clock as mainland Spain. Mainland Spain follows Central European Time in winter, UTC+1, while the Canary Islands remain one hour earlier on Western European Time. This difference is often remembered in Spanish-language broadcasting with the phrase “one hour less in the Canary Islands.”
WET is also associated with places such as Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Ireland during their winter periods, although countries may use different local names. The Canary Islands’ winter offset aligns their clocks with Greenwich Mean Time and Coordinated Universal Time.
The seasonal change creates a useful comparison: when Madrid is on CET at UTC+1 in winter, Las Palmas is on WET at UTC+0. During summer, Madrid advances to UTC+2 and the Canary Islands advance to UTC+1, so the one-hour difference remains. The islands’ location west of mainland Europe helps explain why their civil time follows the western European pattern.