Summer time

Though summer is still far away, summer time or daylight saving time (DST) started in Hungary today. We had to adjust the clocks to summer time, i.e. 3:00 at 2 a.m. One hour is "stolen" from us but it will be "returned" to us on the last Sunday of October.

In Hungary, DST was first introduced on Sunday 30th April 1916. It was observed every year until 1920, then between 1941 and 1949 and between 1954 and 1957. After a long interval, it was reintroduced on Sunday 6th April 1980 and from that time on we use summer time every year.

How much energy can be saved in Hungary by switching the clocks forward? - About 2,000-4,000 megawatt hours (MWh) daily or about 5 billion HUF (about 21,364,500 USD) annually. It is not too much - approximately 2 USD per capita per year.

What kind of impact does DST have on us? It is quite annoying to move all our clocks forward and, in October, backward. We have to get up one hour earlier in the morning thus losing an hour of sleep. But some people say that sleeping at natural light is a waste of time. However, it takes some days or even weeks while our "inner" clock adjusts to the change. In the first days, the number of accidents increases because people are sleepy and tired. And the risk for heart attack is significantly higher during the transition period to DST. But we gain an extra hour daylight which has a good influence on our general mood. We can use this extra hour for outdoor acitivities that are good for our health.

There are many pros and cons of DST. Countries at or near the Equator have no such problem. They have their standard time all year round. They can't save any daylight by turning the clocks forward since daylight hours along the Equator are similar in every season.