The clocks are changing/ Clocks go forward 60 minutes

2025-03-30 08:11:00, Sociale CNA

The clocks are changing/ Clocks go forward 60 minutes
On the night between Saturday and Sunday, the clocks went forward 60 minutes. The official time of the clock change was exactly at 02:00, when the hands move 60 minutes forward, marking 03:00.
Twice a year, our clocks change by one hour and people gain or lose an hour of sleep. This time, the clocks will not go back until October 26.

The change of clocks is a unified process in all European countries. Its change was established as a European law in 1981. The European norm determines the dates of the start of summer time, where the hands move 60 minutes forward, and winter time when they turn 1 hour back.

The clock change aims to save electricity and use sunlight. After the spring equinox, the day has begun to lengthen and reaches its peak on June 22, with 15 hours of daylight and only 9 hours of night.

Since 1981, the time change has been implemented throughout Europe, with many countries moving their clocks forward 60 minutes. The European standard consistently determines the dates of the start of the summer time period, when the clocks move forward 60 minutes.

How did the concept of daylight saving time come about?

It was 1907 when Englishman William Willett introduced the idea of ??"Daylight Saving Time" so that people wouldn't waste precious hours of daylight on summer mornings.

Willett came up with the idea to get people out of bed earlier by changing the clocks. He proposed that the clocks should be moved forward by 80 minutes in four progressive steps during the month of April and the same way during the month of September. Willett then spent the rest of his life trying to convince people that his scheme was the right one.

Unfortunately, he died of influenza in 1915, at the age of 58, a year before the Germans adopted his plan to change the clocks on April 30, 1916, but not by 80 minutes, but by 60, when the clocks went back to 11 p.m. Britain followed suit later, on May 21.

The "Summer Time" Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1916, and May 21, 1916 was the first day of the 'Summer Time' calculation.

But, it wasn't always changed for an hour.

Clocks today are almost always set one hour back or forward, but throughout history there have been some variations, such as half-adjustment by 30 minutes, or double-adjustment by two hours, and other adjustments by 20 and 40 minutes. A two-hour adjustment was used in several different countries during the 1940s.

A half-time adjustment was used in New Zealand in the first half of the 20th century. In Australia, meanwhile, the clock was once set back or forward by 30 minutes.

Since 1981, the time change has been implemented throughout Europe, with many countries moving the clocks forward 60 minutes. The European standard consistently sets the dates for the start of summer time, when the clocks move forward 60 minutes, and winter time, when the clocks move back 1 hour.

The changes take place on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October. The aim of the clock change is to save electricity and make use of sunlight. After the spring equinox, the day begins to lengthen and reaches its peak on June 22, with 15 hours of daylight and only 9 hours of night./CNA