Daylight savings dispute leaves Lebanon with two time zones

Subject :Geography

Section: Physical Geography

Concept :

The Lebanese government’s last-minute decision to delay the start of daylight saving time by a month until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan caused mass confusion on Sunday.
As some institutions implemented the change while others refused, many Lebanese have found themselves able to juggle work and school schedules across different time zones – in a country that is just 88 kilometers (55 miles) long at its widest point.
The small Mediterranean country usually puts its clocks forward one hour on the last Sunday in March, which is in line with most European countries.
On Thursday, however, the Lebanese government announced a decision by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to postpone the start of daylight saving time to April 21.

Daylight saving time (DST)

Daylight saving time (or referred to as Summer Time in Europe) is the practice by some countries of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that in the evening hours day light is experienced later, while sacrificing normal sunrise times
Also called Spring Forward, Fall Backward
The idea behind DST is to make better use of daylight.
During the summer months, the sun stays visible for a longer time and sunset happens late in the day – there is an extra hour of daylight in the evening.
In the autumn/winter, as the days begin to become shorter and nights longer, the clocks are again set back by one hour signalling the end of DST or Summer time. In effect, it transfers an hour of daylight from evening to morning, when it is assumed to be of greater use to most people.

How DST came into being ?

New Zealander George Hudson is said to have proposed the modern idea of daylight saving in 1895.
By some accounts, a group of Canadians in Port Arthur (Ontario) were the first to adopt the practice in 1908 .
Germany and Austria-Hungary organized the first implementation, starting on 30 April 1916, during World War I. Several European countries dropped it after the War ended in 1918. The practice returned again during the energy crises of the 1970s.
Many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s.

Criticism of DST

People and governments of many countries are not happy with the requirement of changing time of clocks twice a year.
Considering the way the way modern societies work, there are grave doubts that DST actually saves much energy.
Some studies have also found health risks as people lose an hour of sleep while advancing the clocks.

A move to end the practice soon

In fact, the European Parliament has voted to scrap DST, and starting 2021, the member states of the EU will choose between having a “permanent summertime” or “permanent wintertime”.
Those who choose the former will reset their clocks for the last time in March 2021; those who choose the latter would do so in October 2021.
In the US, the changing of clocks is the subject of a debate every year, and a large number of people protest against the practice.

Why India does not follow DST ?

India does not follow daylight saving time, even though there are large parts of the country where winter days are shorter.
Daylight Saving Time was observed briefly during the Sino-Indian war in 1962 and the Indo-Pakistani wars in 1965 and 1971 respectively, so that energy consumption by civilians would be reduced.
Also, tea gardens in Assam start work at 8am, continuing a practice started during the colonial rule. This timing is so widespread that it is nick-named “Bagaan Timing” or the tea garden time.
In effect, tea gardens in Assam follow their own informal time zone.