– The fact that we are now setting the clock forward one hour means brighter afternoons and that spring is in the air. By setting the clock forward one hour, we “lose” the hour between 02:00 and 03:00. However, we will get this hour back in the autumn, when the clock will be set back to normal time again, says Minister for Business and Industry Jan Christian Vestre in a press release.
As responsible for the Adjustment Service, it is the Minister of Business and Industry who decides what is the right time in this country.
Many people wonder how long we will continue with winter time and summer time. In the EU, there has been a discussion over time about whether the countries should stop setting the clock. The matter is still under consideration by the Council of the European Union.
– We will wait for the decision from the EU before we decide whether we should stop setting the clock. For several reasons, including the business world, it would be an advantage to have the same solution as our nearest neighboring countries, says the Minister of Business.
The proposal to stop setting the clock twice a year stipulates that each country will be allowed to choose its time zone. We thus risk that some of the countries we share time with today – all of whom follow Central European Time – change time zones. It may mean that we have to set the clock more often than before when we go abroad – even if it’s just a short trip in Europe – as we already do if we go to the UK or Finland, for example.
Today, both Sweden, Finland and Denmark have summer time arrangements like us. Russia and Iceland do not have it.
The historical reason for the summer time scheme was energy saving. Some countries introduced daylight saving time during the First World War to save coal to be used in the war. It is said that George Hudson was the first to propose daylight savings time. He was a researcher and wanted more sun in the evening to collect insects.