Current Local Time in Reykjavik☆

Reykjavík is in the GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) zone, fixed at UTC+0 throughout the entire year. Iceland is unique in Europe in that it never advances its clocks for summer time. This means Reykjavík shares the same time as London, Lisbon, and Dublin during winter, but falls 1 hour behind when those cities switch to summer time (BST/WEST/IST).

No. Iceland does not observe Daylight Saving Time and has never done so in the modern era. The country uses GMT (UTC+0) permanently. The rationale is partly cultural and partly practical: Iceland's extreme latitude means summer daylight lasts almost 24 hours, making clock adjustments unnecessary — and its long, dark winters mean the country effectively benefits from 'natural' DST all year.

Only during winter. From late October to late March, Reykjavík and London are both on UTC+0 (GMT), so they share the same time. From late March to late October, London switches to British Summer Time (BST/UTC+1), putting London 1 hour ahead of Reykjavík. During summer, if it is 3:00 PM in London, it is 2:00 PM in Reykjavík.

Reykjavík is 5 hours ahead of New York during Eastern Standard Time (EST/UTC-5) in winter, and 4 hours ahead during Eastern Daylight Time (EDT/UTC-4) in summer. Since Reykjavík stays on UTC+0 and New York observes DST, the gap changes. When it is 12:00 PM in New York in January, it is 5:00 PM in Reykjavík.

Reykjavík is 1 hour behind Copenhagen during winter (CET/UTC+1) and 2 hours behind during summer (CEST/UTC+2). Despite Iceland's Scandinavian cultural ties, its geographic position on the mid-Atlantic means it keeps GMT rather than the Central European Time used by Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Iceland abolished Daylight Saving Time in 1968 and has not observed it since. The main reason is Iceland's extreme latitude — in June, Reykjavík experiences nearly 24 hours of daylight (the midnight sun), and in December, only about 4–5 hours. Clock changes were deemed unnecessary and disruptive. GMT was chosen as the permanent timezone due to Iceland's geographic position straddling the 0° meridian and its close ties to the UK and international maritime standards.

Standard business hours in Reykjavík are 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM GMT, Monday through Friday. Retail and tourism businesses typically extend hours in summer to match the long daylight — many shops stay open until 8:00 PM or 10:00 PM. Banks operate 9:15 AM – 4:00 PM on weekdays. Reykjavík's growing tourism, geothermal energy, and creative industries sectors generally follow flexible office hours, with many international companies maintaining GMT-aligned schedules.