Summer time should be extended

We are soon entering daylight saving time, or what is more commonly referred to as summer time. European Summer Time is observed from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.

The practice to add daylight to the afternoons benefits retailing, sports and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours. It is a practice where energy can be saved as people normally wake up after dawn during summer time (thereby not requiring electrical lighting) and would tend to switch on lights later in the evenings. Daylight saving time might cause some problems to the farming industry as farmers normally tend to start working early in the morning.

The idea of daylight saving time became more relevant as economies shifted away from the farming industry and the majority of people started working in offices or retail outlets.

In fact, during 2007, most of the US and Canada changed the period to start from the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November, almost two-thirds of the year. Previously, the start and end dates were the first Sunday in April and the last Sunday in October.

In this day and age, where awareness on energy-saving is being put into the fore, Malta, being part of the EU, should suggest that we follow suit.