Daylight Saving Time

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Context

Lebanon was in mass confusion after its government at the last minute delayed the start of daylight saving time by a month.

What is Daylight Saving Time?

Daylight saving time (DST) is the practice of setting the clocks forward one hour from the standard time during the summer and back again in the autumn.
As a result, there is one 23-hour day in early spring and one 25-hour day in the middle of autumn.
This is done to make better use of natural daylight.
The idea of aligning waking hours to daylight hours to conserve candles was first proposed in 1784 by U.S. polymath Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin suggested that waking up earlier in the summer would economize on candle usage; and calculated considerable savings.
The goal of Daylight Saving Time is to make better use of daylight by prolonging the amount of time we can spend outside during daylight hours.

Do we gain or lose an hour during Daylight Saving Time?

When Daylight Saving Time begins, we "spring forward" and set our clocks ahead by one hour, which results in a loss of an hour of sleep as the day becomes 23 hours long.
The extra hour of daylight is essentially moved from the morning to the evening. Standard time will not be reinstated until Sunday, November 5, 2023.

How many nations follow Daylight Saving Time?

Over 70 nations globally follow Daylight Saving Time, known as Summer Time in some countries such as the United Kingdom and Europe. However, the exact amount of energy saved globally each year due to Daylight Saving Time is uncertain.
India does not follow daylight saving time as countries near the Equator do not experience high variations in daytime hours between seasons.

What was the purpose behind the creation of Daylight Saving Time?

The main reason behind Daylight Saving Time is to conserve energy. The idea behind it is that with the later sunset, people are more likely to spend more time outdoors and less time indoors, leading to reduced electricity usage for lighting and household appliances.

Lebanon

Lebanon is a country in Western Asia.
It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lies to its west across the Mediterranean Sea; its location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has contributed to its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious diversity.
It is part of the Levant region of the Middle East.
Its land straddles the "northwest of the Arabian plate".
The border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is disputed by Lebanon in a small area called Shebaa Farms.
Its highest peak is in Mount Hermon at 2,814 metres.
Lebanon is divided into four distinct physiographic regions: the coastal plain, the Lebanon mountain range, the Beqaa valley and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. What do you understand by the concept of Daylight-Saving Time? What was the purpose behind the creation of Daylight-Saving Time? Explain.