The Switch to Summer Time

This weekend Latvia will switch to summer time. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, on 30 March at 03:00, clocks must be moved forward by one hour. Stay alert so there are no unwanted surprises at work on Monday morning!

Image: the astronomical clock in Prague

This practice is not unique to Latvia - it is also observed in many other countries around the world (approximately 70 in total). Online I found an interesting map of the world colour-coded according to whether or not countries switch to summer time. In blue - countries that switch to summer time; in orange - countries that formerly switched to summer time; in red - countries that have never switched to summer time.

Image from wikipedia.org

In Latvia, summer time was first introduced in 1981, and from 1997 summer time has been in effect from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.