The Limited Times

Time change: clocks are set to daylight saving time on Sunday

3/27/2021, 8:16:29 PM


Actually, the time change should be a thing of the past. So far, however, the EU countries have not yet been able to reach an agreement. So at least the manual clocks have to be presented on Sunday morning.

Enlarge image

The artwork »Zeitfeld« by Klaus Rinke in Düsseldorf

Photo: 

Fabian Strauch / DPA

In Germany, as in most European countries, summer time begins on Sunday night.

The clocks are put forward from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., which means one hour less sleep.

Early risers have to wait longer in the morning for the first rays of sun until the end of October, but it is longer light in the evening.

The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig is responsible for a technically smooth process of the changeover.

Smartphones usually adjust the time automatically, only manual clocks still have to be changed manually.

In the EU, the time change should be a thing of the past.

In 2018, the then EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker announced: "The time change should be abolished." First the end was planned for 2019, then for 2021. However, the 27 EU member states still have to decide whether they want permanent summer or winter time not clarified.

Summer time was introduced in Germany in 1980 to save energy.

According to critics, however, the savings effects are minor, and some people also complain of temporary sleep disorders.

Others look forward to longer, bright summer evenings.

hba / dpa / AFP