Here’s why Greenland is permanently keeping daylight saving time
Daylight saving time is going to stay in Greenland and residents have officially moved the clocks in the country for the final time.
“Times are changing in Greenland,” the local government tourism office, Visit Greenland, said in a statement.
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Why is Greenland keeping the same time? Visit Greenland’s statement said, “The shift of time zone marks an exciting new beginning, an equal connection to North America and Europe, and an opportunity to slow down in a fast-paced world.”
The change is set to help residents in Greenland have more time to do business with Europe and North America while having daylight for an extra hour, according to The Associated Press.
The AP reported that Greenland’s parliament voted last November to stick with daylight saving time “year-round,” so when autumn comes around residents will not move the time on their clocks.
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How can Greenland keep the same time? NPR reported that Greenland made the decision to slow down the fast-paced world in the country by maintaining the same time.
Greenland also belongs to the North American continent but is technically a part of Europe in the political sense, according to U.S. News and World Report.
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Is the U.S. planning to do the same as Greenland? Reuters reported that the Senate has already approved a bill that would set daylight saving time to be permanent this year.
The bill, called the Sunshine Protection Act, would go into effect on Nov. 5, 2023, and would allow states that have areas “exempt from daylight saving time” to “choose the standard time for those areas.”
The Deseret News reported that not only does daylight saving time affect schedules and the pace of local communities, but it can also impact individuals’ health.
“We process light neurologically as a tool for our circadian cycles,” child and adolescent psychologist Jenny Howe said. “When we lose access to that, our natural rhythms of motivation and reward and reinforcement and sleep are impaired.”