Time changes in Summer and Winter

When the time changes in Cyprus and why?

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the practice of setting the clocks forward 1 hour from standard time during the summer months, and back again in the fall, in order to make better use of natural daylight.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is used to save energy and make better use of daylight.
DST normally adds 1 hour to standard time with the purpose of making better use of daylight and conserving energy. This means that the sunrise and sunset are one hour later, on the clock, than the day before.

Daylight Saving Time is now in use in over 70 countries worldwide and affects over a billion people every year. The beginning and end dates vary from one country to another. In 1996, the European Union (EU) standardised an EU-wide DST schedule, which runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.

Today, most countries in Europe including Cyprus follow a synchronised DST, or summer time.

If your country uses Daylight Saving Time (DST), you have to change your clocks twice a year. 

On the last Sunday of March (early morning) when the clock shows 03:00 am we turn it one hour ahead to show 04:00 am. 

This year (2019) the change was made on March 31st. 

The Winter season time is applied in October where the clocks are corrected and turned one hour back to show the actual time.
When the clock shows 04:00 am then we turn it one hour back to show 03:00 am.

This year (2019) the change will take place on October 27th.

The European Parliament's plenary session has decided to abolish the change of time in 2021. In particular, by 410 votes to 192, the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg approved the proposal by the Committee on Transport and Tourism ("TRAN") to suspend its current system of semiannual time changes between summer and winter (summer and winter time) from the last Sunday of March 2021.

Parliament has called for a thorough evaluation of existing arrangements since 2018, showing studies indicating the negative impact of time change on people as well as concerns raised by citizens' initiatives.

MEPs urge the European Commission to consider whether the change in time to summer or winter will affect the European Union's common internal market.

Parliament's plenary session means that the change of time must be stopped on the last Sunday of March 2021 for the countries of the European Union that want to maintain summer time permanently, while for the Member States wishing to have winter time, the change will take place on the last Sunday of October 2021.