Turkey to set clocks forward on Monday

People in Turkey will set their clocks and watches forward one hour to start daylight savings time in the early hours Monday, a day later than usual.

Typically, clocks are changed overnight in the early hours of the last Sunday in March and October. This year, the decision was made to delay the change by one day because of the university entrance exam, which is scheduled for March 27, the last Sunday of the month.

Out of concern that student test-takers could be negatively affected by the change, the Cabinet decided to shift the start of daylight savings time to 3 a.m. on March 28, Anatolia news agency reported Friday.

Clocks were last set back one hour at 4 a.m. on Oct. 31, 2010.

Turkey adopted daylight savings time to keep its clocks in line with those of European countries and to decrease the demand for electricity in the early evening hours. Daylight savings will conclude this year on Sunday, Oct. 30, when clocks will once again be set back one hour.

According to the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry, implementing daylight savings time saves the country each year the same amount of energy – in terms of lighting, heating and cooling – as the output of a medium-sized power plant.


/Hurriyet Daily News/