DB Timezone change from UTC to CEST

For Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server and Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server, you can change the server timezone from UTC to CEST using the server parameters.

PostgreSQL Flexible Server:

Go to Azure Portal

Open your PostgreSQL Flexible Server

Navigate to Server Parameters

Search for:

timezone

Set the value to:

  Europe/Berlin
  
     or another appropriate European timezone that supports DST automatically
     

Do not use a fixed offset like CEST or UTC+2, because fixed offsets do not automatically adjust for Daylight Saving Time.

Recommended values:

Europe/Berlin

Europe/Paris

Europe/Amsterdam

After saving, restart may be required depending on the parameter behavior.

You can also verify from SQL:

SHOW timezone;

MySQL Flexible Server:

Open Azure Portal

Go to your MySQL Flexible Server

Navigate to Server Parameters

Search for:

time_zone

Set it to:

  Europe/Berlin
  

Then restart the server if required.

Verification:
```sql
SELECT @@global.time_zone, @@session.time_zone;

DST Handling: Yes. If you use a named timezone such as Europe/Berlin, Azure/MySQL/PostgreSQL automatically handles Daylight Saving Time transitions between CET and CEST.

Important:

• Avoid using:

CEST

CET

+02:00

• UTC+1 because these are fixed offsets/abbreviations and may not automatically adjust during DST transitions.For Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server and Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server, you can change the server timezone from UTC to CEST using the server parameters. PostgreSQL Flexible Server:
  • Go to Azure Portal
  • Open your PostgreSQL Flexible Server
  • Navigate to Server Parameters
  • Search for:
    • timezone
  • Set the value to:
    • Europe/Berlin
    • or another appropriate European timezone that supports DST automatically
  Do not use a fixed offset like CEST or UTC+2, because fixed offsets do not automatically adjust for Daylight Saving Time. Recommended values:
  • Europe/Berlin
  • Europe/Paris
  • Europe/Amsterdam
  After saving, restart may be required depending on the parameter behavior. You can also verify from SQL:

      SHOW timezone;
  

  MySQL Flexible Server:
  • Open Azure Portal
  • Go to your MySQL Flexible Server
  • Navigate to Server Parameters
  • Search for:
    • time_zone
  • Set it to:
    • Europe/Berlin

Then restart the server if required.

Verification:

SELECT @@global.time_zone, @@session.time_zone;
    ```
    
    DST Handling:  
    Yes. If you use a named timezone such as `Europe/Berlin`, Azure/MySQL/PostgreSQL automatically handles Daylight Saving Time transitions between CET and CEST.
    
    Important:
    
    - Avoid using:
    
      - CEST
      
      - CET
      
      - +02:00
      
      - UTC+1  
      because these are fixed offsets/abbreviations and may not automatically adjust during DST transitions.
      

Hi @Muthuraj B

For Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server and Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server, it is recommended not to configure CEST directly because it represents only the daylight-saving abbreviation.

Instead, configure a regional timezone such as Europe/Berlin, Europe/Paris, or Europe/Amsterdam depending on your business location.

To update the timezone:

• Navigate to the Flexible Server in Azure Portal
• Open Server Parameters
• For PostgreSQL, update TimeZone
• For MySQL, update time_zone
• Save the configuration

You can validate the change using:

PostgreSQL:

SHOW timezone;
SELECT now();

MySQL:

SELECT @@global.time_zone, @@session.time_zone, NOW();

Regarding Daylight Saving Time (DST):
Yes, if a named regional timezone is configured (for example Europe/Berlin), PostgreSQL and MySQL automatically apply daylight-saving transitions based on timezone rules, so manual timezone updates are not required.

Please note that changing the database timezone may affect timestamp interpretation and application behavior, so validation is recommended before applying the change in production.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

References:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/postgresql/server-parameters/concepts-server-parameters
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/mysql/flexible-server/how-to-configure-server-parameters-portal
https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/runtime-config-client.html#GUC-TIMEZONE

Hello Muthuraj !

Thank you for posting on MS Learn Q&A.

You should not set the timezone as CEST directly because CEST is only the summer/DST abbreviation so try to use a regional timezone such as Europe/Berlin, Europe/Paris or Europe/Amsterdam.

In the servers params under PostgreSQL flexible server, you can set the timezone to Europe/Berlin for example and then you verify with:

SHOW timezone;
SELECT now();

then save and restart

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/postgresql/server-parameters/concepts-server-parameters

For MySQL it is the same thing only you can check with :

SELECT @@global.time_zone, @@session.time_zone, NOW();

MySQL Flexible Server supports changing the global timezone through server parameters and time zones are now loaded automatically during server creation.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/mysql/flexible-server/whats-new