30 march 2008
On Sunday, March 30 at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time begins in Europe.Every spring we move our clocks one hour ahead and “lose” an hour during the night and each fall we move our clocks back one hour and “gain” an extra hour. But Daylight Saving Time wasn’t just created to confuse our schedules.
The phrase “spring forward, fall back” helps people remember how Daylight Saving Time affects their clocks. On the last Sunday in March, we set our clocks forward one hour ahead of standard time (“spring forward”). We “fall back” at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in October by setting our clock back one hour and thus returning to standard time.
Historically the countries of Europe had different practices for observing summer time, but this hindered coordination of transport, communications and movements. In the 1980s the European Community began issuing directives requiring member states to legislate particular start and end dates for summer-time. This resulted in the European Summer Time.
The change to Daylight Saving Time allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours. Adding daylight to afternoons benefits retailing, sports, and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours.
