In a month, the time change will take place and we will need to set our clocks back one hour.
Specifically, the change will occur on the last Sunday of October (on 27/10) and when the clock shows 04:00 a.m., we will need to turn the hands back to 03:00 a.m.
As announced by the Ministry
“We would like to remind you that on Sunday, October 27, 2024, the application of the daylight saving time measure will end, according to Directive 2000/84 of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU 19/01/2001, regarding the provisions for daylight saving time. The hands of the clocks should be moved back one hour, that is from 04:00 a.m. to 03:00 a.m.”.
It is noted that in Europe, the first time the time change was implemented was in the summer of 1916, amid war, in Germany, so that the workforce could produce better military equipment without consuming electricity.
Since 1996, a uniform, pan-European regulation has been in effect, whereby in spring, it is customary to set the clocks forward one hour. This is done to make better use of daylight for an additional hour, while in autumn we set them back one hour.
Why the time change is not abolished
In March 2019, the European Parliament voted in favor of ending this practice of adjusting the clocks by one hour in spring and autumn, starting in 2021.
“The time change should be abolished,” stated then Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in 2018, after a related online survey across the EU. 84% of those who participated in the survey agreed with the end of this practice.
An important criterion for this public opinion decision was, among other things, the difficulty people had in immediate adjustment.
However, the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine delayed the planning. At this point, there does not seem to be sufficient support for the proposal, and it is unclear when and if the EU will ever rid itself of this measure.
Countries that do not implement the measure
Countries outside the time change measure include Iceland, and Belarus, which stopped it after 2011 and adopted permanent daylight saving time to keep pace with the change initially made by Russia. From April 27, 2011, and by decree of then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Moscow summer time was established year-round.