Jordan Considers Permanent Time Change
By Anne Buckle. Published 5-Oct-2016. Changed 7-Oct-2016
The Jordanian government is considering changing its time zone permanently, effectively keeping Daylight Saving Time (DST) all year.
Update: Jordan Ends DST
Jordan will set their clocks back 1 hour at 01:00 (1 am) October 28, 2016, according to the Jordan News Agency.
Jordan is considering permanent DST.
©bigstockphoto.com/Fotokon
If the change is made, the clocks will not be set back 1 hour to standard time when DST ends on October 28, 2017.
It is The Jordan Times reporting the potential time zone change quoting an unnamed official source.
UTC+3 All Year
Staying on DST will change Jordan's time zone to a permanent UTC offset of plus 3 hours (UTC+3).
A common reason why countries change their time zones is to adjust to its neighboring countries. Jordan's neighbors, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia, use UTC+3 all year.
It is not yet known if and when the final decision will be made, and timeanddate.com is monitoring the situation.
Better Use of Daylight
The Jordan Time's unnamed government source says the reason for considering the time zone change is to make better use of natural daylight in the winter. The source adds that the energy savings in winter "did not prove feasible as was intended," and that working and school hours may be changed to make sure that people get to work and school after sunrise.
Not the First Time
In 2012, Jordan decided to stay on DST permanently. However, in 2013 the government decided to extend permanent DST, only to have to reverse its decision shortly after. The reversal came after protests from the Jordanian people, including the teachers, worrying about the safety of children walking to school before sunrise.