Daylight saving time was in effect in Russia until 2011, and was later canceled by the government. But there are still discussions about the appropriateness of the annual clock transfer.
Arguments of supporters of daylight saving time
From a scientific point of view, only the term summer time is correct, and the so-called winter time is standard time. Daylight saving time is a time that is shifted by one hour in relation to the standard time. The purpose of the clock is a more rational use of daylight hours, and due to this, the achieved energy savings on lighting.
Most countries do not use the practice of switching the clock hands to daylight saving time. In 2012, these included 161 countries. The remaining 78 countries use seasonal clock conversion. This distribution is largely due to the fact that switching the hands to summer time is impractical in many latitudes, in which the length of daylight hours does not change throughout the year.
All those who advocate a return to the practice of changing clocks, most often cite the main argument in its favor - to help reduce electricity consumption. A side effect of this is the reduction of the burden on the environment and the preservation of natural resources. Some also put in the advantages of summer time a decrease in accidents on the roads, a decrease in the number of criminal incidents, an increase in profitability from tourism, and harmonization of the timing with the surrounding countries.
It should be noted that there is no unequivocal confirmation of the possibility of saving energy due to the transfer of the clock to today. For example, RAO UES estimated the scale of annual savings at 4.4 billion kWh. Thus, each Russian saved 60 rubles annually.
American and other Russian researchers have estimated the savings at 0.5-1%. And scientists from the UK have come to the conclusion that converting the arrows, on the contrary, increases the consumption of electricity. This is due to the growing demand for air conditioning and heating.
Arguments of opponents of switching clocks to daylight saving time
The majority of the population of Russia is among the opponents of time conversion. Opinion polls show that more than 2/3 of Russians are against turning the arrows.
Opponents' key argument is that clock shifting has negative health consequences. In 2003, the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences announced the harmful effects of temporary shifts. The most negative translation of arrows is reflected in "owls" and patients with cardiovascular diseases.
It was also revealed that the transfer of hours does not have the best effect on labor productivity, which is why the country loses in terms of GDP.
According to some reports, the switch of the arrows leads to an increase in accidents on the roads and causes problems in the operation of the country's transport system.
Finally, the need to change the clock entails certain difficulties for the inhabitants of the country. In particular, they need to manually translate watches on equipment - TVs, camcorders, players, etc.
