Turkey to implement daylight savings time year-round

ISTANBUL

Turkey will continue to implement daylight savings time throughout the entire year and will not roll back its clocks an hour on Oct. 30, according to a cabinet decision announced in the Official Gazette on Sept. 7.



According to a cabinet decision taken upon a notice by Turkey’s Energy Ministry, daylight savings time will be used every year and winter time will no longer be implemented. The purpose of the practice was noted as benefiting more from daylight.



Turkey moved to daylight savings time this year on March 27 at 3:00 a.m. local time, as clocks were wound forward one hour.



Daylight savings time was slated to end on Oct. 30 this year, as clocks across the country would have been turned back one hour at 4:00 a.m. local time.



In 2015, the winter time change had been delayed for a week in order to not disrupt the general elections in Turkey, which took place on Nov. 1. Instead of on Nov. 1, clocks were taken back an hour on Nov. 8.



Before this newly introduced practice, Turkey was acting in accordance with European countries regarding the practice’s beginning and ending dates. The decision means that Turkey will be three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in winter as well as summer and two hours ahead of continental Europe in winter.



It will now be on what is regarded as Daylight Saving Time all year round.



“I abolished the winter-summer time difference,” Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said in a speech to provincial governors.



“There will be no confusion now. The hours will be the same in winter and summer.



The move has not been welcomed by sports followers in Turkey, as with the time gap between Europe and Turkey becoming larger for six months of the year, sports events taking place in European countries will be watched in Turkey at later hours, causing event followers, especially football fans, to endure sleepless nights if they wish to watch games in various European leagues. UEFA and Champions League games featuring Turkish teams will also be viewed at later hours, often ending after midnight in Turkey.

