Turkey’s standard time zone is UTC/GMT +3 hours. While there have been proposals to implement DST year-round, these have not been implemented yet. In March of 2012, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources proposed that the country should observe DST all year long. However, this idea was rejected.
Turkey’s standard time zone is UTC/GMT +3 hours
The standard time zone of Turkey is UTC/GMT +3 hours. This makes it one hour ahead of Europe. However, the eastern and western most points are almost an hour apart, which can be confusing for travelers. In addition, Turkey does not use Daylight Saving Time. Instead, it uses the Eastern European Summer Time, which is UTC +0200 or +0300. As Turkey is quite large for a European country, UTC/GMT +3 hours is suitable for its time zone.
As of April 2018, Turkey’s standard time zone is UTC +3 hours. This means that Istanbul is approximately 50 hours ahead of apparent solar time. This is not necessarily a problem, but it is worth considering before traveling to the country.
Daylight saving time in Turkey
- Daylight Savings Time is an international time change that affects 1.5 billion people. It saves approximately 6.82 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and $431.9 million in time-variable utility prices each year. Although Turkey does not plan to change its practice, many countries in Europe and the United States have already adapted this change.
- Turkey adapted the practice five years ago and no longer makes biannual changes to the time. Some critics are calling for a permanent change, but the government is standing firm.
- Turkey observes daylight saving time from Last Sunday March to Last Sunday October. This changes the clocks by one hour and lowers the time difference between the country and other places in the world. The country uses the same time zone as Egypt, which means that the clocks in each place will advance one hour.
Turkey was originally scheduled to “fall back” an hour on Saturday, but authorities decided to postpone the change until after the November elections. However, many clocks defied the government’s decision and changed the time anyway. Turkish citizens have become frustrated and even resorted to social media to vent their frustrations.
Turkish government claims that daylight saving time saves energy
While the Turkish government says DST helps it save energy, the evidence is mixed. A 2016 study from Istanbul Technical University claims that DST saves three to nine percent of electricity consumption per year. Turkey’s Energy Minister claims that DST has saved six billion kilowatt hours since its implementation. However, a simple calculation shows that the country has actually saved only 0.05 percent per year.
The original purpose of DST was to reduce energy consumption by reducing the amount of lighting and electricity used. While it did reduce electricity consumption, it actually increased consumption of other resources such as fuel. In addition, people were more likely to shop if the light was still present.
Turkey abolished the system
Turkey ditched Daylight Savings Time (DST) a few years ago. The country went from an annual, one-hour time change to an annual, two-hour time change. Its former Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Berat Albayrak, defended the practice by citing studies that show increased productivity. Turkey has been in the GMT+2 time zone since the 1970s and formerly had time changes between March and November.
However, many people are still opposed to the change in time. Some argue that the biannual time change causes health problems, while others believe it helps people get more done in the daytime. While the effects of Daylight Savings Time are not clear, research has shown that the benefits of longer, lighter evenings outweigh the risks, particularly if you’re not used to the shift. For example, a recent study by Rutgers University found that a change in time could save over 343 lives each year. Another study showed that it reduces the number of fatal car accidents.
