Of course, going on vacation, especially to sunny Spain, I do not want to think about time. But I have to. Many Russians do not have the habit of rearranging the hands of their clocks at local time. And because of this, they get into stupid situations. Russia has a difference with Spain not only in climate, standard of living, traditions, but also in time. Countries are in different time zones, and in this article we will tell in which ones. The time difference between Russia and other countries is not such a simple question as it seems at first glance. Indeed, in the Russian Federation there are several time zones. And in Spain? It turns out, too. All these temporary nuances must be taken into account so as not to wake your friend with an unexpected call in the middle of the night.
What is UTS
To understand why Russia has a time difference with Spain, you first need to clarify the general question: why in the world are the clock hands not synchronized? The earth rotates on its axis, so it seems to us that the sun moves along the sky from east to west. And when it was evening in Tokyo, it was not yet dawn in New York. The world map is divided into time zones. And the fundamental standard is Universal Time - UTS. It is calculated from the Greenwich meridian, passing near London. Thus, all territories located along it are in the UTS + 0 time zone. Countries east of Greenwich live UTS + 1, 2, 3, and so on, depending on how far they are from the UK. And the territories located to the west, on the contrary, take away hours of English time. They live in belts UTS-1, 2, 3 ...
Time difference with Spain
If we look at the map of Europe, we will see that most of the Iberian Peninsula lies west of Greenwich. Madrid, for example, is located at the third degree of west longitude. It would seem that Spain should live in the same time zone with Great Britain. But the UTS standard is very often associated with politics. As a member of the European Union, Spain prefers to exist in the same time zone as its eastern neighbors. Therefore, she lives in UTS + 1. It is strange that the time is the same in Poland and in Spain. The western part of the Russian Federation is in the UTS + 3 belt. It turns out that the hourly difference with Spain in Moscow and St. Petersburg is only two units. But not so simple. UTS does not include daylight saving time. After all, it is focused on "true noon." That is, the time is calculated when the sun reaches its zenith (twelve o'clock in the afternoon).
Why did countries switch to daylight saving time?
Does Russia have a time difference with Spain relative to the time of year? In many countries in high latitudes, daylight hours are highly dependent on the season. In order to coordinate time with the administrative regime and thereby save on energy consumption at enterprises, the governments of these states decided to shift the timer hands one hour forward in the spring and return them back in the autumn. For the first time, this manipulation was carried out by Germany, as well as its allies during the First World War in 1916. Then, following the political confrontation, the countries of the Entente followed her example. The Soviet Union (and then Russia) since 1981 translated arrows forward every spring. But from July 1, 2014, the Russian Federation abandoned this idea. Now the western part of the country exists year-round in UTS + 3. Regarding Moscow, the eastern regions of the Russian Federation also calculate their time. They add an hour to it. But Spain, despite the fact that it lies in the southern latitudes, is practicing daylight saving time. The whole warm period she lives in UTS + 2.
Winter
Let's start with a simple one. What is the time difference between Spain and Russia between November and the end of March? Then both countries live on “true noon”. It's all, in general, simple. By a simple arithmetic action (3 - 1 = 2) we get the result. When it’s noon in Moscow, it’s ten in the morning in Madrid. With the capitals sorted out. And what are the temporary differences between other regions? You should be aware that in Spain not all territories lie within UTS + 1. The Canary Islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean much west of the Iberian Peninsula. And the Tenerife resort lives in UTS + 0 - that is, according to British time. What arithmetic steps should we do to find out how many hours in the Canary Islands in winter, if it is noon in Krasnoyarsk? First we look at Moscow. Krasnoyarsk is UTS + 7. Subtract three from seven - four comes out. Moscow is eight in the morning. We otminusem two more hours. There are six in Madrid. And in Tenerife, an hour less - five.
Time difference with Spain in summer
This Pyrenean country moves the clock hands forward every last Sunday of March. Therefore, between April and the end of October, the calculation of the temporary difference changes. In summer, mainland Spain lives in UTS + 2. And the western part of the Russian Federation continues to exist in UTS + 3. Consequently, the time difference between countries will be only one hour. And when it breaks midday in Moscow, it will be ten in the Canary Islands.