Turkey continues with daylight saving time permanently

ANKARA

A presidential decree signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made “GMT+3” the official permanent time zone of the country.

The decree, published in the Official Gazette on Oct. 2, revoked the cabinet decision dated Oct. 23, 2017 which said that clocks would be moved forward one hour until Oct. 28.

The Council of State, Turkey’s highest administrative court, on Sept. 27 had ordered a stay of a previous cabinet decision to make daylight saving time last for the entire year.

The government’s decision to move to permanent daylight saving time had stirred a public debate, as some communities especially living in the western parts of the country complained about having to wake up in the dark well before sunrise.

On the other hand, then Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak defended the practice, citing studies showing that advancing clocks year-round would increase productivity.

Turkey, which lies between longitudes 26° and 45° E, traditionally used the “GMT+2” time zone on grounds of its close ties with the European countries.

The practice of advancing clocks one hour between March and November was in place since 1970.