The seasonal clock changes is a relic of a previous era. It has no place in the technological advances 21st century. It causes confusion twice a year and has passed its ‘sell by date’. The reasons for this time change are now obsolete. With the progress of technology, the energy-saving ritual has become irrelevant. The agricultural community also says clock changes are disruptive to farm animals. This ritual needs to be changed now.
Provided by AFP The main idea behind clock changing was to harmonise the hours of activity with those of daylight to limit the use of artificial lighting The twice-yearly changing of the clocks for winter and summer has been a ritual in Europe since 1916, originally conceived as an energy-saving measure. But over the years many countries have abandoned the switch and now the European Union says it will recommend abolishing it altogether in a forthcoming proposal to the European Parliament.
US statesman Benjamin Franklin is credited today with coming up with the idea for clock changes in 1784, in a satirical essay published in the Journal de Paris in which he called on France to bring the start of the day back by an hour to cut back on using candles. The establishment of the twice-yearly change -- one hour forward in the summer, one hour back in winter -- was adopted in 1916 by the German and Austro-Hungarian empires, to save on electricity during World War I. The same year the British empire and France also introduced the clock changes. But the clocks stay the same all year round in Africa, apart from in Morocco, and in many countries in Asia.
British government should take the lead in bringing about this much needed change in UK.
Baldev Sharma
Rayners lane, Harrow.
