Daylight savings time

Time adjustment: daylight savings time (DST)



From the 31.03.2013 we have adjusted to daylight savings time .
At this time the clocks were set forward 1 hour: from 2 am to 3 am , so that night was 1 hour shorter.

The next time adjustment will be on Sunday, 27.10.2013

The clocks will be set 1 hour back, so the night is 1 hour longer.
The time then changes from daylight savings time to standard time ("spring forward, fall back").

for more dates check the table below

What is it good for?


The basic idea of adjusting the time during the summer months is to get more daylight in the afternoon and to shorten it in the morning. This practice has numerous advantages:
  • A prolonged sunlight time in the afternoon leaves more time for leisure and outdoor activities.
  • This benefits retailers and businesses related to leisure activities.
  • DST is supposed to reduce energy consumption, as it reduces the use of artificial light. This effect, one of the main arguments for supporters of a daylight savings time, is an object of controversy. Various Studies examining the effects of DST on energy consumption are greatly influenced by local conditions, thus leading to different and even contradictory results.
  • Several studies found a decrease in traffic accidents during daylight savings time. This effect seems to outweigh the increase of accidents at the time of the time adjustment itself, which was observed by some studies.
On the other hand, a number of disadvantages have been mentioned:
  • Some businesses are negatively affected by DST, for example Theaters, Farmers and TV stations.
  • DST is complicated. Clocks have to be set, meetings are missed, computer systems may fail, the list of possible problems and disturbances caused by the time adjustment is almost endless. Moreover, different DST schedules make timekeeping across borders a difficult task.
  • The time adjustment may lead to disruption of the circadian rhythm and may cause various health problems. The health issue is also discussed controversely, as there are positive effects of DST on health to be found as well.

Daylight savings time in the UK


Year

DST beginns

DST ends

2000 26.03. 1:00:00 GMT 29.10. 2:00:00 BST
2001 25.03. 1:00:00 GMT 28.10. 2:00:00 BST
2002 31.03. 1:00:00 GMT 27.10. 2:00:00 BST
2003 30.03. 1:00:00 GMT 26.10. 2:00:00 BST
2004 28.03. 1:00:00 GMT 31.10. 2:00:00 BST
2005 27.03. 1:00:00 GMT 30.10. 2:00:00 BST
2006 26.03. 1:00:00 GMT 29.10. 2:00:00 BST
2007 25.03. 1:00:00 GMT 28.10. 2:00:00 BST
2008 30.03. 1:00:00 GMT 26.10. 2:00:00 BST
2009 29.03. 1:00:00 GMT 25.10. 2:00:00 BST
2010 28.03. 1:00:00 GMT 31.10. 2:00:00 BST
2011 27.03. 1:00:00 GMT 30.10. 2:00:00 BST
2012 25.03. 1:00:00 GMT 28.10. 2:00:00 BST
2013 31.03. 1:00:00 GMT 27.10. 2:00:00 BST

Technical terms


GMT

: Greenwich Mean Time.

BST

: British Summer Time.

UTC

: Coordinated Universal Time.

(GMT can be considered equivalent to UTC, BST = UTC + 1h.

At the beginning of the summertime, the time is set forward from 1:00 to 2:00am.

At the end of summertime, the clock is set back from 2:00am to 1:00am.

During the autumn transition the hour from 1:00am to 2:00am elapses twice, these hours are referred to as 1A and 1B.

atomic-clock.org.uk - your source for time information and watches