Swiss prepare for clocks to go forward on Sunday night

The clocks go forward by one hour on Sunday night Keystone-SDA

At 2am on Sunday, clocks in Switzerland and most European countries are set forward by one hour to 3am.

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Summer time 2025 will last 30 weeks or 210 days. At 3am on October 26, the clocks will be set back to 2am and so-called standard time.

The possible abolition of the seasonal time change has become a political issue, particularly in Switzerland’s neighbours. The European Union presented concrete plans, but the member states did not follow suit.

+ Daylight Saving Time: when Switzerland was a ‘lost island’ in Europe

Critics of the time change complain about the negative effects on health and animal welfare. Children and older people in particular would suffer from mini-jetlag. There would also be more road accidents due to fatigue. The changeover is also a thorn in the side of the farming industry, as the milk yield of cows is said to be lower.

Daylight saving time was introduced in Europe in 1973 against the backdrop of the oil crisis. The aim of the time shift was to gain an extra hour of daylight for businesses and households with the aim of saving energy. Switzerland followed suit in 1981 to avoid becoming a “time island”.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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