Prague, Oct 21 (CTK) – The Czech Republic together with the whole of the European Union will return to winter (astronomical) time this weekend, which means that the clocks will be switched back by 60 minutes at 3:00 CEST on Sunday, October 25.
The respective EU directive, approved in 1997 and extended indefinitely four years later, introduced the beginning and end of summer time on last Sunday in March and last Sunday in October respectively, always in the night.
The EU will switch to summer time on Sunday, March 27, 2016.
However, experts have challenged the previous opinion that the regular time switches contribute to considerable energy savings.
The time switch does not influence electricity consumption at all, CEZ semi-state power utility spokesman Ladislav Kriz told CTK repeatedly in the past.
Moreover, opponents of the time switch claim that it is harmful for human health as it disturbs people’s natural biorhythm.
Scientists from the National Institute of Mental Health have warned that the time switch is unnatural for human body. They are researching into its particular negative effects on people’s health.
Sensitive people may suffer from fatigue, somnolence and confusion that may lead to emergency situations as a consequence of the time switch, according to scientists.
In general, people can adapt to winter time much easier, while summer time is generally less pleasant for them, doctors and psychologists say.
Some people may need even more than one week to adapt to the change.
“There are many pieces of evidence to prove the harmfulness of the time switch and some countries have abandoned it. The unification of one time for the whole year could prevent risky situations that may occur when the body is trying to cope with such an intensive intervention,” Denisa Janeckova, head of the working group for chronotypes and sleeping habits of the National Institute of Mental Health, told CTK.
Summer time, which was to contribute to energy savings, was first introduced in the Czech Lands during World War One in 1915, and repeated in the following year, but then scrapped. The Nazis reintroduced summer time in the occupied Czech Lands in 1940, and it was kept after the end of the war until 1949 when the Communists abolished it.
Summer time was reintroduced in then Czechoslovakia in November 1979 and it has been annually observed since then. In 1996 it was extended from six to seven months in harmony with an EU directive.
