European Time Zones

[Lardybloke]

Why is it that Portugal is on Grenwich Mean Time but Spain are an hour ahead?

[bernardo]

Spain are not an hour ahead.

Spain is an hour ahead.

Spain is an hour ahead, because the Spanish government and/or parliament made a decision to adopt the Central European time zone (one hour ahead of GMT/BST).

Portugal is on GMT/ BST because the Portuguese government and/or parliament made a decision to adopt GMT/ BST.

 

You could equally well ask why it is that any two adjacent countries with different time zones are in different time zones.  The answer is that the boundaries between the different time zones have to be drawn somewhere.

[Lardybloke]

Yes, but the same amount of Britain as Spain falls in the same time zone. Kinda makes a mockery of time zones altogether.

Go to America and you will cross time zones in the same country.

[amarillis]

Same in Australia - during summer time, the sun races back and forward across the country to rise at different times in different states.

[Octavius]

Time zones are generally centered on meridians of a longitude that is a multiple of 15 thus making neighbouring time zones one hour apart. However, the one hour separation is not universal and the shapes of time zones can be quite irregular because they usually follow the boundaries of states, countries or other administrative areas.

 

Calculating zone time
For every 15� east or west of the Greenwich meridian civil time changes by 1 hour forwards and backwards respectively. To find the appropriate time zone, in hours, divide the longitude, in degrees, by 15.

 

 

[Peter Pedant]

You have a few sharp answers to a very reasonable question Lardy

You must have noticed that some bits of spain are north of portugal and so are at different times.

I think the answer is political - the Portuguese wished to show that politically they are different to their neighbours. The same sortof thing as ROI and the North having the punt and the pound - before the ROI got the Euro.

[landie]

Spain is generally East of Portugal and therefore sunrise and sunst are earlier.