What is daylight saving time and how did it start in the world

Weather of Arabia - Daylight saving time begins when the clock is moved forward by one hour in the spring season of each year, and daylight saving time ends again when the clock is set back by an hour in the fall season of each year, but what are the countries that adopt the time change? Why does daylight saving time exist? How did it start in the world?

What are the Arab countries that operate in summer time?

Arab countries that change the time to daylight saving time; Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, and each country has a different date for the start of daylight savings time, and the following are the dates for the start of daylight savings time in these countries:

• In Jordan: DST begins in Jordan   last   On Thursday / Friday in the month of February, the hour is advanced by 60 minutes exactly at 12 midnight, that is, the hour is advanced to one after midnight, and before the Jordanian government decided to install daylight savings time throughout the year in 2022, daylight savings time ended in The last Thursday in October is at 12 midnight, when the clock is set back to 11 pm.

• In Palestine: another   On a Friday / Saturday in March, the clock is advanced by 60 minutes exactly at 12 midnight, that is, the hour is advanced to one after midnight, and daylight saving time ends on the last Friday in October at 12 midnight, when The clock is set back to 11 pm.

For more: Extending the winter time in Palestine beyond the blessed month of Ramadan..Details

• In Lebanon: another   On a Saturday / Sunday in March, the hour is advanced by 60 minutes exactly at 12 midnight, that is, the hour is advanced to one after midnight, and daylight saving time ends on the last Sunday in October at 12 midnight, when The clock is set back to 11 pm.

​Note: It was decided to extend the winter time in Lebanon in 2023 until April 20, then the decision was reversed, so summer time began at midnight on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

• In Syria: another   On a Thursday/Friday in March, the hour is advanced by 60 minutes exactly at 12 midnight, i.e. the hour is advanced to one after midnight, and daylight saving time ends on the last Friday in October at 12 midnight, when The clock is set back to 11 pm.

• In Egypt: Daylight saving time returned to Egypt in 2023 after its cancellation , and daylight saving time begins in the Arab Republic of Egypt as of the last Friday of April, and continues for a period of 6 months until the end of the last Thursday of October of each calendar year, so that the The clock followed by sixty minutes.

For more: 7 years after its cancellation.. Egypt returns to daylight savings time on this date

Here is a map of the regions in the world that change the time to daylight saving time:

How did daylight savings time start in the world?

It is believed that Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea of ​​resetting the clocks in the summer months as a way to conserve energy, by moving the clocks forward so that people could take advantage of the extra daylight in the evening instead of wasting energy on lighting. At the time Franklin was ambassador to Paris and wrote a letter to a Paris newspaper in 1784 rejoicing at his "discovery" that the sun provides light as soon as it rises.

However, DST did not officially begin until more than a century later, with Germany adopting DST in May 1916 as a means of conserving energy during World War I, the rest of Europe adopting it shortly thereafter, and the United States two years later.

Why is there daylight savings time?

Less than 40% of the countries in the world adhere to summer time, and these countries use summer time in order to benefit from the natural daylight that begins early in the summer days. The year is on the day of the summer solstice, as during the summer the earth tends towards the sun directly, so it receives a greater amount of sunlight.

Areas further from the equator and closer to the poles get the most from the daylight saving time clock change, because there is more variation in sunlight through the seasons.