Changing clocks annually and DST - October update

Well my friends the time is here. The annual tradition of changing clocks two times a year. 

October update 

Clocks here in UK & Europe are going one hour backwards. Days are already getting shorter and nights getting longer. Also weather temperatures are dropping as we are in the middle of autumn and soon, there will be cold winter. Especially with upcoming events & public holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving (USA/Canada), Remembrance Day (UK) and yes the festive season (Christmas and New Year).  Next couple of days, North America will change clocks backwards. 

So that is all I want to do today to brief you about upcoming clock changes. There are some countries who have already changed clocks. 

I will reiterate as mentioned on my blog March post this year since it will be only time that I get to talk about changing times in Northern Hemisphere with different dates in the years with few editions.

Depending which country you live in. If you live in the country that does not change times once or twice a year in March and October then congratulations. 

However if you live in the country that does annually change times twice a year in Spring and Autumn (Fall) then I guess you have an opinions whether you support or oppose clock changing. Same goes to the country that I live in. The United Kingdom. 

Changing clock forward in March and changing clock backward in October/early November in the final week of the month (late March and late October) have always been the tradition. It is always been the case since First World War. Century ago. 

Every time when we change our clocks, there will be always for and against. Positive and negative & that have never been ending topic. Changing times and DST (Daylight Saving Time). In the UK, we currently use BST (British Summer Time). Soon to change it for GM (Greenwich Mean Time) by one hour backward. In March, it’s one hour forward (switching back to BST) and it repeats two times a year. 

So here are the pros & cons of DST (Daylight Saving Time) because there are arguments for & against DST in the name of changing clocks & time. 

Pros: good about DST

Longer evenings: evenings that are lighter & brighter. Which is common in Western Hemisphere nations like Europe, Canada & the US. More sunshine.

It does save energy: Well really there are critics who do say that it does not really save energy as there are mixed opinions of whether DST does really save energy & that no one is sure about it. & less artificial light. 

& even it makes it safer to improve road safety & reducing robbery. 

Cons: bad about DST

It costs money & it does cost each country’s economises a money. 

It does not really save energy. 

& losing one hour of sleep. Time change could lead some people to serious consequences such as suffering heart attack, car accidents in the road, workplace injuries, etc. 

There is the pros & cons of DST & the practices of changing time. 

Before the tradition of changing times happened during First World War when Germany was the first time to change times, many people who first proposed the idea of changing times like Benjamin Franklin & George Hudson & people in other countries didn’t seemed to the like of idea & that it was a joke & when Germany changed times during WWI, countries like Russia, US & the UK soon followed to do the same. 

In the recent years, Israel (2014) had started to change times to be in align with Europe while countries like Turkey & Russia abandoned the use of changing times. 

So with the EU now wanting to put a end of changing times, there will be countries who would want to follow the suit as well. Until Covid 19 impacted the world last year and it is currently ongoing. The EU27 had proposed that this year 2021 would had been final time for the EU member states to choose which time they would want to go for. Permanent Summer Time (for more of daylight) or Permanent Winter Time for less of daylight). So because of the pandemic, it will not happen this year and that won’t start the process of ditching the annual tradition of changing times anytime soon at the moment in Europe. 

And if that does eventually happen someday in the future (the end of changing times), those who cannot stand changing times two times a year will be relived and happy. Some might not. For me, I am not that bothered (I am neutral on this topic). Although I prefer that we carry on using the daylight saving as the UK and mainland Europe will start changing clocks for tonight (early hours of Sunday. Halloween - 31st October 2021 at the time of writing) until we are at the point that we no longer have to keeping changing time in March and October (two times) & that we start to follow other countries that does not annual change clocks like we do in the West. Like South Africa, Turkey, Russia and Brazil for example.

Lastly, regarding the seasonal clock change for Ireland and Northern Ireland. Because of the UK now out of the European Union (as of 31st January 2020). If the UK and Ireland do want to change times or not (even the EU still believe that they do want to put a end to changing times) then time zones in Northern Ireland and Ireland (Republic of Ireland) must not be split in two. 🇪🇺🇬🇧🇮🇪 google.co.uk wired.co.uk publications.parliament.uk 

For example: 12pm in Belfast, Northern Ireland and 11am in Dublin, Ireland. One hour ahead in the Island of Ireland. Because of the effects of Brexit, if that does come to it (god forbid) then expect in the future that people in NI would want to support United Ireland (Northern Ireland rejoining with the Republic) which all means not using the same time zone of Great Britain and use the time zone of Ireland (south. Republic of Ireland). So I hope that should not be the case. No wonder Brexit complicates things as much that Covid is. That’s why Northern Ireland is still in the EU Single Market while the rest of the UK (mainly Great Britain) are not in the Single Market.

So that is all I can say about Daylight Saving Time and the annual tradition of changing clocks twice a year. 

Now let’s all change a time step by step as we will have a shorter days & longer nights. Changing clocks in the UK and continental Europe starts tomorrow (Sunday 31st October - early hours). Canada 🇨🇦 and America 🇺🇸 will soon change the clock to one hour backwards next couple of days after Europe. 

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