Why does the time change (and when)

On the night between Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th October 2023 the clock hands will go back one hour, marking the definitive transition from summer time to solar time.
The change of time is a critical moment for citizens, and not only because of the numerous doubts – there is often confusion about how and when to move the hands – but also because of the important effects that the change of time has on the cycle wake-sleep, often causing insomnia in citizens.
Generating even more confusion is the decision of some countries to definitively abolish the change of time, leaving doubts about the real need to move the hands forward or backward on the dial every six months.
In fact, it is appropriate to ask ourselves about the pros and cons – advantages or disadvantages – of changing the time.
If, in fact, with solar time, citizens will gain an extra hour of sleep between the night of Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 October 2023, this effectively translates into one less hour of light per day.
One hour less light is equivalent to having to turn on the lights in the home and offices first, certainly having an economic impact on families, who already have to deal with the future blow to their bills due to the war in Palestine.
.
Faced with such a situation, it is important to delve into why the time changes (at what time and when) and its advantages and disadvantages, especially from an economic point of view.
Here's everything you need to know.
read also Free electricity and gas market, the best combined offers When and what changes with the change of time With the change of time, from summer to solar time, which will take place at night, between 28 and 29 October, citizens they will be able to enjoy more hours of sunlight in the morning to the detriment of those in the afternoon, causing that sensation of the days "shortening".
In fact, with the return of solar time, in the middle of winter, the sun will set around 4.40 pm.
An important change not only in terms of temporary disruption of the alternation of the sleep-wake cycle, but above all on an economic level, which is why Northern European countries have been proposing the abolition of summer time for some time, while due to the energy crisis born due to the war in Ukraine and which could worsen with the war in Palestine, there is talk of abolishing solar time.
Why time changes: the history of summer and solar time If solar time corresponds with the time of the reference zone of European countries, which is adopted during the winter period, summer time is instead a convention adopted by Member States with the aim of making greater use of the hours of natural light during the summer period.
Summer time was introduced and adopted for the first time by Great Britain in 1916 mainly due to economic needs due to the First World War.
Although the invention is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, in reality the inventor simply identified the problem of overspending on candles and therefore the need to wake workers up earlier.
Over the centuries, up until the Great War, many entrepreneurs asked for a change in time, and other countries, such as Italy, then followed the British example and established summer time to save energy, especially between the two wars.
In Italy it was then definitively restored in 1966.
And only since 1996 has the EU adopted the same calendar for changing the time: with summer time starting on the last Sunday of March and solar time on the last Sunday of October.
Yet, for some years now there has been discussion about the abolition of the time change.
read also Bill bonus October 2023: requirements, amounts and application Why it is proposed to abolish the time change: the advantages and disadvantages Both Northern European and Mediterranean countries have long proposed abolishing the time change, however finding themselves disagreeing about what time to “keep”.
Nordic countries, such as Finland, would like to abolish summer time as the change of time would not bring any benefit, indeed causing psychophysical disorders, since in the Nordic countries there is no benefit in further extending daylight hours; just think that on the longest day of the year, in Finland, the sun rises before 4.00 am and sets almost at 11.00 pm.
On the other hand, Mediterranean countries like Italy can save energy with the time change: prolong daylight hours with less use of electricity.
In fact, with solar time we will see an increase in electricity and gas bills.
According to Alessandro Miani, president of the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA), maintaining summer time and abolishing solar time would bring important benefits.
In fact, the expert explained that the gas market could save as much as 2 billion and 700 million euros if no type of change occurred regarding the time.
Summer time not only entails significant economic savings for Mediterranean countries but also greater environmental protection.
In fact, with summer time, CO2 emissions into the atmosphere are lower, equal to 205 thousand tons.
The abolition of solar time, which came back into force tonight, could be very advantageous.
read also Bills, shock alarm: how prices increase with the war in Israel