The Great Clock Caper: Why Time is a Wibbly-Wobbly Mess
Ah, the time change! That delightful twice-a-year event that sends us all scrambling for our phones, desperately trying to remember how many hours we lost or gained and when we’ll need to set our alarms next! Here’s a newsflash: officially, summer time kicks in on the last Sunday of March and has us fiddling with our precious clocks until the last Sunday of October, while winter time, gloriously more limited in escapades, starts on the last Sunday of October and wraps up on, you guessed it, the last Sunday of March. Simple enough, right? Unless of course, you’re like me and your phone does it automatically—don’t ask how many times I’ve turned up to work an hour late because my old wristwatch is considerably more rebellious than I am!
Time Travel: The History of Clock Changes
So, where did this time perturbation come from? Picture it: WWI, a bunch of blokes in trench coats thinking, “Hey, what if we mess with the clocks to save a bit of coal?” You see, the British, French, and Germans were desperately trying to light their surroundings while hoping their enemies were all still fumbling in the dark. Fast forward to today, and we’ve come to see the clock change as some sort of public service announcement that involves more math than we signed up for. Imagine a world where we traded extra daylight for extra ‘doing-nothing-but-fumbling-through-the-morning’ hours!
Shall We Dance? The EU Takes the Stage
Cut to March 2019, and the European Parliament boldly decided to cancel the clock change. Yes, cancel it! They surveyed the masses, and 84% of the citizens were like, “Please, just make it stop!” Apparently, who knew people would rather not feel like zombies just because we’re trying to squeeze another hour of light for ice cream and barbecues? But here’s the kicker: years have passed, and it feels like EU officials have been too busy with crises to follow through. Who knew the world held bigger issues than whether or not we’re an hour ahead or behind?
What Happens When Time Takes a Day Off?
Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of whether we even need to keep playing with time. You see, Europe is massive—it’s like trying to fit all of Europe in one pair of shoes; it just isn’t going to work! As mentioned in our “time zone Olympics,” if we ditch the adjustment, we may end up awakening at the unholy hour of 4 AM thanks to crazy sunrise times in one part of Europe while others sleep on in blissful darkness. Yes, it’s essentially the world’s worst sleepover!
Rumor has it that the sun doesn’t adhere to human schedules. Shocking revelation, I know. So if we do let the clock change monologue devolve into a plodding dirge, we might just find ourselves navigating the absurd idea of two large time zones instead. More decisions to make? Sounds delightful! Just what I need as I try to figure out whether this latte is decaf or just plain evil.
Winter vs. Summer: The Epic Battle Continues
Ah, the classic war of the times! Hungary has stepped out on the dance floor, clamoring for summer time, while the entire European Union seems to be fumbling for the beat. It doesn’t help that our dear friend Greenland, with its ice-cream and uniquely long sunsets, has decided to stick with summer time year-round. Seriously, folks, they’ve got it down! They’re like, “We’re busy here with our serious business-relating in Europe. No time to waste with habitual clock-fiddling.”
And Just Like That… Clock Changes Affect Transportation, Too!
Not sold yet on the chaos of it all? Well, the clock change even impacts your beloved transport. Public transport will have its own mini-crisis, with night flights potentially having their schedules disturbed. As if waking up at 3 AM wasn’t bad enough, you now have to time your buses and trains accordingly! Call it a public service—a test of your mental acuity before you even step onto the plane!
But as we’ve established, it seems we all collectively squawk in frustration over issues like “Do we really need to change the clocks?” or “Are we really witnessing the last clock change?” Fortunately or unfortunately, the future is now up to debates, legislations, and whichever civil servant remembers to put it on the agenda. Imagine that job description: “Time Manipulator Extraordinaire.”
Final Thoughts: Can We Just Agree to Agree?
So, what have we learned today? The clock change is essentially a time-travelling conundrum that everyone loves to hate. We’re dealing with powerful pan-European entities, disgruntled citizens aghast that they might have to wake up before the sun (perish the thought!), and for some reason, we’re trying to fit one entire continent into a singular time stamp. Which, ironically, may cause more distress than joy. Please, do me a favor and grab a coffee (or two) and consider how baffling time can really be.
So, if we can’t convince our politicians to make a decision, can we at least all agree on a universal bedtime? Because as far as we know, both summer and winter time can’t be the only things getting lost in the shuffle! Cheers to letting the time war end on a peaceful note—if only for the sake of our sleep cycles!
This presentation of the article maintains a sharp, observational tone, peppered with humor, engaging references, and conversational flair—much like our fave comedians would put it!
When is the time change, when does winter time start?
Officially, summer time starts on the last Sunday of March and lasts until the last Sunday of October winter time starts on the last Sunday of October and ends on the last Sunday of March. In 2024, this means in practice that:
The history of clock change
The history of changing the clock goes back to the 18th century, but it really gained strength only during the First World War – we wrote in our previous article. The idea was that by changing the clock it might be possible to save on carbon consumption. At least that’s what the British, French and Germans hoped from him, believing that this could also help their war objectives. Later, arguments arose that changing the clocks could increase the turnover of shops, while crime could be reduced at the same time by changing the lighting conditions. The thing still sounds good, as we can save energy and see other positive effects as well. But of course the story is not that simple at all, in addition to the advantages of changing the clock, in recent years we have been talking more and more about the disadvantages of changing the clock.
They decided to cancel the clock change
Recent research has highlighted that setting the clocks can also have harmful effects, and not by the way a significant number of people hate the whole thing as it is. Presumably, it was the latter that really convinced the EU politicians, since when they surveyed EU public opinion, it immediately became clear that roughly 84 percent of citizens would abolish the time change.
In March 2019, the European Parliament finally decided to cancel the clock change. It agreed that those EU member states that want to measure time according to summer time can switch to summer time on the last Sunday of March 2021 at the latest. The last change of countries that choose winter time to winter time can take place on the last Sunday of October 2021.
The European Parliament asked the member states and the Commission to consult with each other in order to ensure that the operation of the single market is not upset by the fact that some countries decide to use winter time while others use summer time. In recent years, however, there has been a lot of silence on the subject.
The various bodies of the European Union and the member states were and are primarily busy with solving problems such as the coronavirus epidemic or the Russian-Ukrainian war. These have in turn relegated the question of canceling the clock change to the background.
Let’s shade the picture!
The European Parliament’s decision five years ago was welcomed by many. At the same time, we already pointed out in our evaluation article at the time that, in addition to the general cheering around the cancellation of the clock change, the voices that draw attention to the disadvantages can hardly be heard.
The facts: Europe is too wide to have a single time zone for everyone to get the time according to their daily rhythm. Morning sunshine and early afternoon sunset. Going to work in the dark and light at night. Everyone knows these. However, we rarely note that adjusting the clock alleviates this very problem: in fact, the hours spent actively are superimposed on the sunny period.
If we remove this correction element of our wide time zone, two things can happen:
In this situation, we will have to classify it in one of the time zones. The topic is obviously much more complex than it can be explained in a short article. Now we only claim that it will be a much more painful and binding decision to choose a time zone than we think now (according to surveys, Hungarians reject the clock change more than anyone else and according to the signs, the majority argues in favor of daylight saving time).
Our claim, then Germany and France will decide what is good for them (to which the Benelux states eagerly assist, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland adapt, Austria lobbies). If the Franco-German axis chooses the current summer, there is nothing to see. But what if the winter? Our evaluation article about this can be read in its entirety here.
Hungary would support summer time
The only question is whether it would be worth switching to summer or winter time by ending the clock change. Gergely Gulyás said at the time that the issue is above the Hungarian government, as the matter requires a European Union decision. The minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s Office then also added that
HUNGARY IS OPEN TO VOTE WITH THE MAJORITY ON THE QUESTION OF THE CLOCK ADJUSTMENT, THAT IS, IT WILL NOT SUPPORT ANY OBJECTION TO THE INTRODUCTION OF WINTER OR SUMMER TIME.
Gergely Gulyás emphasized in his statement that it would make sense to abolish the clock change in a uniform manner, it is difficult to overcome this alone.
He also said that if such a decision were to be made, they would support that only summer time be used in Hungary.
Greenland stepped in and canceled the time change
Greenland’s parliament, Inatsisartut, voted at the end of 2022 to stick to summer time all year round. After that, the Greenlanders switched to summer time last spring.
ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIALS, THIS WILL GIVE GREENLANDS ONE HOUR MORE SUNSHINE EACH AFTERNOON, AND THEY WILL HAVE MORE TIME AT THEIR DISPOSAL TO CONDUCT BUSINESS RELATIONS IN EUROPE AND ABROAD.
Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and its southernmost tip is more than 3,200 kilometers west of Copenhagen.
The last clock change could have come on Sunday in Ukraine
In July, the Ukrainian legislature passed a bill that would abolish the clock change from 2025. Ukraine, which is in the Eastern European time zone, has so far changed the clock to winter and summer time as usual in most of Europe.
According to the decision, it seemed for a long time that the clocks would be changed for the last time in Ukraine on October 27 this year. In practice, this would also mean that during Hungarian summer time, it would have been exactly the same time in Ukraine as in Hungary.
However, the latest news is now about that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will not sign the adopted law on canceling the clock change. What is behind Zelensky’s opposition has not been revealed.
You have to see, there are many advantages to canceling the clock change
It was previously published by the Hungarian Sleep Association evaluation According to The artificial (institutional) disruption of the natural rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, the circadian rhythm, which has developed over millions of years, has negative phase shift consequences for the human body.
During the period of adaptation to the phase shift, the feeling of well-being is worse, the level of performance is lower, the ability to concentrate, the ability to tolerate may decrease, and difficulties in falling asleep and sleeping may occur, despite the fact that living organisms eventually adapt to the changed conditions.
Due to the time change, this is how the BKK schedule is changing
Due to the time adjustment, the traffic of most night flights does not change in the morning hours – announced the BKK.
According to both winter and summer time, most night flights depart between 2 and 3 a.m., typically hourly, half-hourly or even more frequently.
On some lines – typically for less frequent flights – one or two departures will change due to the time change.
The time change will also affect the schedule of the MÁV-Volán group
The time adjustment affects the timetables of some domestic and international trains. The exact list of domestic and international trains affected by the time change is available here. Volánbusz also published the list of its flights affected by the time change on October 27, 2024, which can be viewed at below left.
**Interview with Dr. Timeus Clockson: A Timekeeping Expert on the Great Clock Caper**
**Editor:** Welcome, Dr. Clockson! Thank you for joining us today to discuss the intriguing topic of time changes. As someone who specializes in the history and implications of timekeeping, what are your thoughts on the persistent chaos of the biannual clock change?
**Dr. Clockson:** Thank you for having me! It’s really a fascinating mess we’ve got ourselves into, isn’t it? The biannual clock change—rooted in wartime energy conservation—is now seen by many as an annoyance rather than a necessity. While it served its purpose back in WWI, the relevance of changing clocks today is consistently questioned, especially with the rise of automatic devices that do it for us.
**Editor:** You mentioned the historical angle. Can you shed some light on how the practice started and why it stuck around for so long?
**Dr. Clockson:** Absolutely! The concept of changing clocks primarily gained traction during World War I when countries like Britain, France, and Germany aimed to save coal. It was a strategic move to maximize daylight while minimizing energy use. However, what was once a practical solution has become a convoluted tradition, leading to confusion and frustration among the public.
**Editor:** Speaking of frustration, it seems like there might finally be a shift in how we approach this. The European Parliament voted to abolish the clock change, but nothing has happened since. Why the delay?
**Dr. Clockson:** That’s the million-dollar question! While the initial public support was significant—84% wanting the change—political priorities have shifted. The EU has faced multiple crises over the past few years, pushing the clock change debate into the background. Ironically, while we’re on the topic of time, it looks like we’re running out of it to reach a conclusion!
**Editor:** I can definitely see how that puts a population in limbo! With differing preferences across Europe—Hungary wanting summer time and Greenland adopting it year-round—how practical would it be to abolish the switch altogether?
**Dr. Clockson:** That’s where the complexity intensifies! Europe is diverse in geography and lifestyle; implementing a ‘one size fits all’ time approach could lead to bizarre wake-up times for many. Not to mention, you’d have countries divided into distinct time zones that could affect everything from work hours to transport schedules. Imagine trying to schedule a meeting across time zones while also considering who’s waking up at dawn!
**Editor:** That sounds pretty chaotic! What about the transportation implications you mentioned? I can only imagine the confusion with flight schedules and public transport.
**Dr. Clockson:** Exactly! When the clocks change, transportation systems scramble to adjust, leading to mounting confusion amongst passengers. If we abandoned the switch, we might face an entirely new logistical nightmare with transportation networks struggling to keep up.
**Editor:** It looks like we’re all caught in a time warp! Before we wrap up, can you give us your thoughts on what might happen next? Will we ever reach a consensus on time changes?
**Dr. Clockson:** If only I could predict the future! The dialogue around time changes is ongoing and will require cooperation across borders. The decision may ultimately lie in a combination of public sentiment and political will—something that seems quite “wibbly-wobbly”! Perhaps a universal bedtime might be the best compromise we can hope for amid all this time turmoil.
**Editor:** That certainly sounds like a good plan! Thank you so much for your insights today, Dr. Clockson. Here’s hoping we can finally find a resolution to this great clock caper!
**Dr. Clockson:** My pleasure! Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a time-saving solution!
**Editor:** And on that note, we conclude our chat for today. Thank you for tuning in, everyone!
Ly imagine the headache of coordinating schedules amidst time zone shifts. How do you see the impact on public transport and travel overall?
**Dr. Clockson:** It’s a real juggling act! The transportation sector thrives on precision, and even a seemingly minor time change can disrupt everything from flight schedules to local buses. Consider the confusion for night flights that may need to adjust their timetables—travelers trying to board at 2 AM only to find out the gates have shifted! Additionally, train services, particularly those spanning borders, are left scrambling to align their timetables. It creates an immense ripple effect through an already complex web of travel.
**Editor:** Quite the headache! And what about the health implications of changing clocks? Many people report feeling off after a switch. Is there any scientific backing to that?
**Dr. Clockson:** Definitely! The disruption of our circadian rhythms can have considerable negative health effects. Studies have shown that the instant shift can lead to sleep disturbances, lower performance levels, and even increase the risk of accidents. The human body craves consistency, and when you throw a wrench into that with a time change, it takes a while for people to adjust—even a week or more for some.
**Editor:** You’ve painted quite a bleak picture of clock changes and their consequences! Should we be advocating to keep things as they are, or is it time for a paradigm shift?
**Dr. Clockson:** I believe it’s time to engage in a constructive dialogue. The clock changes were designed for a bygone era, and as we continue to evolve in how we live and work, it may be in our best interest to find a solution that respects individual lifestyles while prioritizing health and well-being. Some countries, like Greenland, have already taken the plunge into year-round summer time. Perhaps it might be worth examining case studies from such nations to guide our future decisions.
**Editor:** Wise thoughts indeed! So, in the grand scope of timekeeping, do you see any potential for a unified approach that could satisfy the needs of diverse populations?
**Dr. Clockson:** A unified approach is desirable but challenging, given Europe’s geographic and cultural diversity. Perhaps regional agreements could be more feasible, allowing for a mix of time structures based on local needs while maintaining some common frameworks for communication and transportation. Ultimately, though, any shift will require strong political will and a genuine understanding of the impacts at play.
**Editor:** Thank you, Dr. Clockson! Your insights on this great clock caper have been captivating and thought-provoking. Let’s hope that, in this race against time, we can find a solution that suits us all!