Opinions differ on the time change: some favour it, others prefer to abolish it. The fact is: that the clock is turned at the end of the month.
It’s not just the thermometer showing that summer is finally over—the clocks will soon be changed back to standard time, incorrectly called “winter time.” This is because winter is standard time, Central European Time (CET), and lasts five months, from the end of October to the end of March. The remaining months are summertime when the clock is set forward from two to three o’clock.
In the fall, however, many face a dilemma: do you set the clock hand one hour forward or back? And on which day do you turn the clock? This year, the time change will take place on the night of October 26 to October 27, 2024, i.e. on the last Sunday of the month. The clocks will be set back from three o’clock to two o’clock. This has advantages and disadvantages: You gain an hour’s sleep, but it gets dark quicker.
With alarm clocks on smartphones, radio-controlled alarm clocks or laptops, the changeover is automatic, meaning you wake up on time the next day. You have to make the change with analogue wristwatches or older household appliances.
Controversial effect
The time change was introduced to use less electricity in summer because the days are longer and therefore brighter. According to Wien Energie, however, this is not entirely true: only two percent of total household energy is used for light. Although less light is used in summer, more heating is used in the morning in the fall
No fans of the time change
Austrians are not fans of the time change: according to a survey from 2018, the majority are against the twice-yearly changeover. 65 percent prefer only one time that applies all year round.
They are divided into 29 percent who are in favour of permanent winter time and 36 percent who are in favour of permanent summer time. In the survey, working people, in particular, chose the “light for longer in the evening” option. Permanent winter time was least popular with them, while non-working people tended to favour this time.
- source: kurier.at/picture: pixabay.com
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