In Belgium, the switch to daylight saving time will take place this weekend on the night of Saturday 30 to Sunday 31 March. Clocks will go forward by an hour at 03:00, resulting in a loss of sleep, but also a longer and lighter evenings.
On the last Sunday of March each year, the clocks go forward an hour for daylight saving time. This year, this falls on Easter Sunday (31 March). From Sunday onwards, the sun will rise an hour later, meaning the mornings will be slightly darker for some weeks. But this also means sunset will appear an hour later, making for longer periods of natural light in the evenings.
The ritual of moving the clocks forward on the last Sunday of March has been observed in Belgium since 1977. The goal of implementing it at the time was to save electricity, as the extended daylight hours reduced the need for artificial lighting.
Previously, daylight saving time had also once been implemented in 1916 throughout the country, excluding the Westhoek in the west of Belgium. This was a move made by the German Empire, for energy conservation reasons. The change was enacted in its territory and other occupied parts of Europe for the summer and was observed in the regions until 1918.
Abolishing the changing of hours?
Despite numerous studies questioning its energy-saving impact, both summer and winter timings remain in use in Europe, while much of the world has avoided or abandoned the practice.
Critics of daylight saving time highlight that it disrupts natural biological rhythms and causes confusion throughout many countries; the time of transition is not standardised, creating complexities.
According to the Vias Road Safety Institute, the week following the shift to daylight saving time also sees a hike in road accidents across Flanders. However, other road safety experts have argued this also results in fewer accidents during the evening rush hour.
In 2018, the European Commission proposed abolishing the change between summer and winter time, but Member States struggled to agree on which time – standard time or daylight saving time – to use. The consensus was that each country should choose their own time. Belgium's Federal Government has yet to decide on the matter, however.
