TIME CHANGE. The March 2022 time change date is scheduled for this weekend. France will switch to summer time on the night of Saturday March 26 to Sunday March 27, 2022. While the measure is supposed to disappear soon, here are some answers to the big and small questions raised by this time change…
The essential
- Indestructible time change. This weekend, France is going back to summer time. The 2022 time change takes place on the night of Saturday March 26 to Sunday March 27: at 2 a.m., the time will jump to 3 a.m., everywhere in France.
- Following the change of summer time, our difference with solar time increases by one hour, so we go from GMT+1 (winter time) to GMT+2 (summer time). We lose an hour of sleep as well as an hour of natural light at the start of the day. On the other hand, the spring and summer evenings will gradually lengthen.
- The time change, in force in France since 1976, is supposed to disappear. Its end was recorded by the French authorities and by a decision of the European Parliament. But the abolition of the time change has been delayed because of the health crisis and the difficulties of harmonization between Member States. Enough to make the clocks waltz once or twice next year…
- Find all the answers to your questions about the 2022 summer time change and the long-awaited end of the measure below.
Questions answers
Who is for what time in Europe?
In Europe, which countries are in favor of keeping daylight saving time all year round? The Irish, the Poles and the French, consulted in their respective countries, have all chosen summer time rather than winter time. On the other hand, several countries in northern Europe would like to keep winter time. This is the case of Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands. The Portuguese, Greeks, Cypriots and Maltese, satisfied with the system, would like to keep the time change.
Are there more heart attacks because of summer time?
According to various studies, the transition to summer time would be bad for your health. Liberation thus reports that an American study revealed, in 2014, that the risk of having a heart attack increases by 25% on the Monday following the transition to summer time. In question, the less good sleep which would have consequences on the “cellular stress”. A conclusion that Swedish researchers already shared in 2008. This risk, on the other hand, would not exist during the transition to winter time.
Who had the idea of the time change?
If the time change was implemented in France in 1976, this idea had already been mentioned much earlier. In 1784, it was Benjamin Franklin who spoke about it in the Journal de Paris, already at the time evoking savings thanks to this process. Then US Ambassador to France, he hoped to reduce the consumption of candles. Today, the principle of the time change is to take advantage of the hours of natural sunshine in the evening in summer to consume less electricity.
Since when is the time change unified within the EU?
On the scale of the European Union, the change of summer time was “unified” in 1980 “in order to ensure a harmonized approach to time changes within the single market”, recalls the European Parliament. Before that year, more than 40 years ago, daylight saving practices varied from country to country.
When exactly does daylight saving time take place?
The transition to summer time always takes place on the last weekend of March, with a subtlety to be aware of: it must be the last full weekend of March. In 2022, the question does not arise since the month of March ends on a Thursday (the 31st) and not a Saturday, as has sometimes been the case. The transition to summer time occurs precisely on Sunday March 27 at 2 a.m.
Will the 2022 daylight saving time change be the last time change?
This will not be the case, and several years of time changes still await us: the project to abolish the seasonal time change has indeed been “stuck” in the pipeline for several years, and has been delayed. In September 2018, the Transport Committee of the European Union envisaged the end of this measure for 2019. However, it was not until 2019 that the European Parliament adopted the project by majority, with one year of abolition of the time change. then set at 2021. Then the Covid-19 health crisis went through there, but also the political crisis that followed Brexit in 2020. Enough to put the time change on hold within the European institutions. For the end of the seasonal time change to take effect, the choice to stay in winter time or summer time must also be recorded in the payees concerned.
What time will the sun rise after daylight saving time? And what time will he go to bed?
From Sunday March 27, the first day following the change of summer time, night will fall around 8 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. In the morning, the sun will rise around 7 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. previously.
Does daylight saving time always occur at the same time in the calendar?
The transition to summer time always takes place on the last weekend of March, with a subtlety to be aware of: it must be the last full weekend of March. In 2022, the question does not arise since the month of March ends on a Thursday (the 31st) and not a Saturday, as has sometimes been the case.
Will the 2022 daylight saving time change be the last time change?
This will not be the case, and several years of time changes still await us: the project to abolish the seasonal time change has indeed been “stuck” in the pipeline for several years, and has been delayed. In September 2018, the Transport Committee of the European Union envisaged the end of this measure for 2019. However, it was not until 2019 that the European Parliament adopted the project by majority, with one year of abolition of the time change. then set at 2021. Then the Covid-19 health crisis went through there, but also the political crisis that followed Brexit in 2020. Enough to put the time change on hold within the European institutions. For the end of the seasonal time change to take effect, the choice to stay in winter time or summer time must also be recorded in the payees concerned.
Summer time all year round, is it a big change for farmers?
If we stayed on daylight saving time, what economic impact might that have? Some sectors should adapt, such as agriculture. Luc Smessaert, vice-president of the FNSEA thus explained to the magazine Challenges that the harvests should start later and that more employees should work at night. Incidences which would therefore have a direct impact, for example on the wages paid. Summer time is indeed further from natural time, on which farmers rely more.
On what date and at what time was the 2022 summer time change scheduled?
The daylight saving time change always takes place on the last (full) weekend of March, at 2 a.m., on the night of Saturday to Sunday. The 2022 summer time change was therefore scheduled for the night of Saturday March 26 to Sunday March 27, 2022, with a jump in the hands from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.
When and how does daylight saving time take place?
During the summer time change, at 2 am, you always have to advance the hands of your old watch or your ancestral clock by one hour. At 2 o’clock, France goes instantly to 3 o’clock. In more technical terms, the Hexagon “switches” from GMT+1 (winter time) to GMT+2 (summer time). If an hour of sleep is thus “lost”, night falls, on the other hand, one hour later in the evening. The maneuver therefore artificially loses one hour of sleep, but also artificially gains one hour of natural light at the end of the day, in addition to the natural and progressive lengthening of the days as the sun approaches. summer solstice, in June. Of course, smartphones like all connected devices switch to summer time automatically, without any intervention being necessary.
Will the time change end soon?
In February 2018, the European Parliament polled EU citizens on the subject of the time change. Of the 4.6 million Europeans who responded, 84% said they were in favor of removing the measure (a citizen consultation conducted in France, with 2.1 million participants via the National Assembly website, also gave a clear preference of 83.71% for the end of the time change and even to stay permanently on summer time). But it took another year until, in March 2019, the European Parliament adopted a majority project to end it. A deadline had even been set to put the time change in the closet: October 2021. The health crisis and the hesitations of European leaders will have finally given a few more years to the alternation between winter time and summer time. .
Is the March 2022 time change the last?
Not only is the March 2022 daylight saving time change not the last, corn several other time changes are yet to follow. According to the European Commission, quoted by Le Figaro.fr, the abolition of the time change will probably not take place in 2022. Apart from the delay caused by the Covid health crisis, what is blocking is harmonization between the Member States . The European Union has in fact three time zones today, and an EU directive suggests letting each state choose whether or not to suppress the time change, and then switch to either winter time or permanent summer time. This European Union directive has been validated by the European Parliament in March 2019, but it must also be done by the Council of Ministers (which unites the representatives of the different EU Member States). This is where negotiations stall.