This night, Romania switches to “winter time”. What effects does the time change have?

Romania officially switches to “winter time” on the night of October 26/27, when the clocks go back one hour, 4 o’clock becoming 3 o’clock.

On the night of October 26/27, 4 o’clock becomes 3 o’clock. Photo pixabay

Every year, on the last Saturday of October, Romania switches to winter time. In 2024, 4 o’clock will become 3 o’clock during the night of October 26/27, when 4.00 becomes 3.00, making October 27 the longest day of the year.

Romania is in time zone 2, and Romanian Legal Time applies from the last Sunday of October to the last Sunday of March, when Romania switches to summer time, and the difference from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is three hours .

This time change system was adopted in the last century, to benefit from more natural light and save electricity.

The Germans were the first to introduce summer time, starting in 1916 (between April 30 and October 1). The British followed, who introduced summer time also in 1916 (between May 21 and October 16). On March 19, 1918, it was also introduced in the United States of America, but it was used only until 1919. In Romania, summer time was introduced for the first time in 1932, between May 22 and October 2. Other countries that introduced summer time were: Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey and Tasmania.

After, in 2018, several studies found that the energy savings are minor, and citizens complain more and more about negative effects on health, in March 2019, the European Parliament decided to abandon the time change. The measure should have entered into force from 2021, after this decision was also confirmed by the national parliaments, something that did not happen in all t members.

Trains in motion will stop at the nearest station

The change of time during the night of October 26/27 does not change the current train schedule.

“On the night of October 26/27, 2024, when 4 AM becomes 3 AM, all passenger trains that have departure times from train stations after 4 AM will depart at the times of the Train Schedule in force, respecting European Time Oriental”, announced CFR Călători.

Even the trains running on international routes will not change their schedule.

“Considering that also in neighboring countries, the transition from summer time to the official Eastern European time takes place on the same day, October 27, 2024, between the border stations the trains will run according to the effective train timetables”,
explains CFR Călători.

However, CFR Călători informs that “passenger trains in circulation after 4 AM, the official summer time, will stop at the established stations along the way, where they will stay until the departure time of the timetable in force after the new Eastern European time, and the trains that still have after traveling a short distance to the final station, they will continue their journey to their destination“.

Risk of asthenia and depression

According to doctors and psychologists, the change to winter time affects us differently, depending on age, lifestyle and even health. Thus, some people may accuse a time of temporary problems in the circadian rhythm, which can lead to fatigue, drowsiness, decreased performance at work and increased risk of accidents. It is about the so-called autumn asthenia.

Usually, the time change affects children and older people the most, whose adaptation systems are more sensitive to the changes.

According to psychologists, adjusting to winter time can, in some cases, lead to a mild depression related to the changes of season, especially in the winter months, when the shorter days and the fact that people benefit from less natural light are reflected and in the emotional mood.