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Turkey Considers Daylight Saving All Year Round

Turkey is moving one step closer to the possibility of observing daylight saving time throughout the entire year in the next two years.

Turkey Considers Daylight Saving All Year Round

There are plans for Turkey to adopt a 12-month daylight saving schedule.

©iStockphoto.com/John Woodworth

In the meantime, the country will end its daylight saving schedule for 2008 when the clocks turn back by one hour on October 26.

On August 13, 2008, timeanddate.com contacted Turkey’s General Directorate of Energy Affairs. A spokesperson advised that no concrete decision had been made about the 12-month daylight saving plan and some proposals related to energy issues were still being discussed. timeanddate.com also contacted various government offices, including the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, but they were unable to clarify the precise time daylight saving would end in Turkey in 2008. The Turkish Embassy’s press office in the United Kingdom confirmed the finishing date and time of the country’s daylight saving schedule in 2008.

A Step Further for the 12-month Daylight Saving Proposal

According to newspaper Hürriyet, Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Ministry reached a consensus with the relevant institutions regarding implementing daylight saving time all year round and a change of reference meridian. However, the Council of Ministers need to approve the proposed changes and if it is approved, airlines, banks, stock exchange organizations and other organizations have two years to adapt to the changes before an all-year daylight saving schedule is implemented.

Debate among Government Agencies

In March, 2008, Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler announced that the government considered implementing daylight saving time all year round, according to Anatolian Agency. After a meeting in Ankara, the Energy Minister told reporters about plans to implement daylight saving time all year round. Guler’s proposition sparked a reaction from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which objected to the proposal, saying that such a plan would increase the time difference between Turkey and other countries in Europe and could have negative effect on trade relations.

Daylight Saving Schedule in 2008

Turkey began its daylight saving time on March 30, 2008, when the clocks moved forward by one hour at 3am. During the daylight saving period, Turkey is on Eastern European Summer Time (EEST), which is three hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Daylight saving time ends on the last weekend of October in 2008 when the clocks will be set back by one hour on October 26. Turkey will then observe Eastern European Time (EET) which is two hours ahead of UTC. Daylight saving time has been implemented in Turkey in previous years for the following reasons: to save electricity; to ensure Turkish time is in synchronization with times in most European countries; and to decrease the evening energy demand.


YearStart dateEnd dateDaylight duration
1973Jun 3Nov 422 weeks
1974Mar 31Nov 331 weeks
1975Mar 22Nov 232 weeks and 1 day
1976Mar 21Oct 3132 weeks
1977Apr 3Oct 1628 weeks
1978Apr 2Jun 2912 weeks and 4 days
1983Jul 31Oct 29 weeks
1985Apr 20Sep 2823 weeks
1986Mar 30Sep 2826 weeks
1987Mar 29Sep 2726 weeks
1988Mar 27Sep 2526 weeks
1989Mar 26Sep 2426 weeks
1990Mar 25Sep 3027 weeks
1991Mar 31Sep 2926 weeks
1992Mar 29Sep 2726 weeks
1993Mar 28Sep 2626 weeks
1994Mar 20Sep 2527 weeks
1995Mar 26Sep 2426 weeks
1996Mar 31Oct 2730 weeks
1997Mar 30Oct 2630 weeks
1998Mar 29Oct 2530 weeks
1999Mar 28Oct 3131 weeks
2000Mar 26Oct 2931 weeks
2001Mar 25Oct 2831 weeks
2002Mar 31Oct 2730 weeks
2003Mar 30Oct 2630 weeks
2004Mar 28Oct 3131 weeks
2005Mar 27Oct 3031 weeks
2006Mar 26Oct 2931 weeks
2007Mar 25Oct 2831 weeks
2008Mar 30Oct 2630 weeks
2009Mar 29Oct 2530 weeks
2010Mar 28Oct 3131 weeks
2011Mar 28Oct 3030 weeks and 6 days
2012Mar 25Oct 2831 weeks
2013Mar 31Oct 2730 weeks
2014Mar 31Oct 2629 weeks and 6 days
2015Mar 29Nov 832 weeks