The European Union’s plans to stop switching between standard time and daylight savings time has set off calls to do the same in Norway. Newspapers are already editorializing that Norway should retain the latter, locally known as sommertid, all year long.
Summertime is simply much more popular than wintertime, and many Norwegians dread the day in late October when clocks fall back an hour after springing forward in March. It means the days get even shorter than they already are.
Mornings may be slightly lighter on standard “winter time,” but newspaper Aftenposten is among those arguing that it’s much more practical to strive for more daylight a bit longer in the afternoon: “It will be lighter longer when most people have some free time,” the paper argued over the weekend. Lighter afternoons and evenings will offset the darker mornings, when the sun won’t rise until 10am during December, 11am in Trondheim and not at all in Northern Norway.
In December, the daylight savings time advocates argue, it’s so dark in Norway anyway, that another hour of darkness in the morning won’t matter. Better to keep it lighter later in the day.
Norway is not a member of the EU, and even EU countries will be able to choose between permanent standard or daylight savings time. For practical reasons, it will be best if most EU countries remain on the same time zone, Norway too. It remained unclear when any firm decisions would be made.
newsinenglish.no staff
