Will clocks be switched to daylight saving time in Ukraine: date and why there are doubts

The Verkhovna Rada has passed a bill to cancel daylight saving time. On the last Sunday of October 2024, Ukrainians reset their clocks and, according to the provisions of the adopted law, were supposed to stay on winter time. However, the law was not signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

There is information that the head of state does not plan to sign the law in the future, which means that it may never come into force. OBOZ.UA tells whether Ukrainians will switch to daylight saving time in 2025.

Who decided to change the clocks and when

The author of the concept of time change is considered to be the American scientist and politician Benjamin Franklin. In 1784, he wrote an article proposing to change the time according to the seasons to save on candles.

In practice, the idea began to be considered only at the beginning of the XX century. Germany was the first country to officially introduce daylight saving time in 1916. The innovation was associated with the First World War and the desire to save coal. After Germany, this practice was followed by other countries, including the United States.

One of the main reasons for the introduction of daylight saving time was to save energy. Setting the clocks forward by one hour allowed for more daylight hours in the evening, which theoretically should have reduced electricity consumption for lighting.

Some studies have shown that daylight saving time can have a positive impact on labor productivity.

On the territory of the Ukrainian People's Republic, the clocks were first set to Central European Time on February 16, 1918.

Has daylight saving time been canceled in Ukraine?

On July 16, 2024, the Parliament voted to cancel daylight saving time. At the time, MPs emphasized that the law was aimed at protecting public health: scientists and doctors have repeatedly noted that daylight saving time has a number of negative consequences, particularly during the adaptation period.

At the same time, the Academy of Higher Education Sciences appealed to Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cancel daylight saving time. Employees of the public organization emphasize that the decision was made without expert opinions, and the abolition of seasonal time change will cause wasted energy.

Therefore, the president has not signed the bill yet. By the way, the deadline for vetoing the law has also long since passed.

Is it necessary to change the clocks in March?

Since daylight saving time has not been canceled, daylight saving time is due to start on the last Sunday of March at 03:00 am. The clocks will be set forward one hour to 04:00.

By the way, in 2019, the European Parliament also supported the decision to cancel daylight saving time in 2021, but the idea has not yet been implemented. Read the article to find out which countries will continue to switch to daylight saving time.

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