September 28, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

When we change the clock to winter time


As the autumn equinox approaches, the nights become longer and the days shorter, and we begin to prepare for the transition to winter time, leaving the days of summer behind.

The transition to winter time will take place at dawn in last Sunday in October, October 27, 2024. On this day we will move the clocks back one hour so that they show 03:00 at night (from 04:00).

Internet-connected devices such as smartphones, smartwatches, computers and tablets will automatically change the time. However, classic battery-powered wall clocks require manual movement of the hands.

The Greek Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure issued an official statement: “We would like to remind you that on Sunday 27 October the summer time measure expires, in accordance with Directive 2000/84 of the European Parliament and of the Council EU of January 19, 2001 on the transition to summer time. The clock hands must be moved back one hour, that is, from 04:00 in the morning to 03:00 at night.”

How did the idea of ​​daylight saving time come about?
The idea of ​​daylight saving time arose to make better use of daylight to save energy. In Greece and Europe, summer time lasts for seven months, and winter (or solar time) begins on the last Sunday in October and lasts for five months.

The first mention of daylight saving time was made by Benjamin Franklin in a letter to a French newspaper. This letter did not mention a change in time, but only suggested that people get up an hour earlier.

Today only a small proportion of the world's population uses daylight saving timesince almost all countries in Asia and Africa do not participate in this practice. Some countries have canceled or are planning to cancel this measure.

The European Union has decided to abandon mandatory daylight saving time in 2021giving each member state the opportunity to independently choose whether to maintain summer or winter time. In Greece, related consultations were postponed indefinitely.

When did the first time change occur in Greece?
In Greece, daylight saving time was first introduced as an experiment in 1932, but was later abandoned. In the 1970s, following the energy crisis that struck Europe in 1973, the decision was made to adopt daylight saving time in most European countries, including Greece, which introduced it in 1975.

It should be noted that in Europe the first time change was implemented in the summer of 1916, at the height of the war, in Germany. This was done so that the workforce could better produce military equipment without consuming electricity.

Since 1996, a single pan-European regulation has been in force, according to which it is customary to move clocks forward one hour in the spring. Which allows us to enjoy an extra hour of daylight. In the fall, the clocks are set back one hour.



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