Türkiye to continue daylight saving time: Minister

With winter in full bloom, questions have once again been raised over the daylight saving time practice in Türkiye, as Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said that DST will continue and there will be no transition to winter time.

"In 1940, it was decided to introduce DST in Türkiye on the same dates as Europe. Between 1962 and 1972, DST was applied intermittently in Türkiye as it is today. Between 1978 and 1984, Türkiye switched to continuous daylight saving time. After 1984, DST was changed in order to be more compatible with the West," Bayraktar said while answering the questions of deputies at the General Assembly yesterday.

"On Nov. 20, 2015, we studied the impact of daylight saving time on energy efficiency under a protocol with Istanbul Technical University. There is a committee of 11 academics. This committee includes experts from the Psychological Counseling and Guidance Department, sociologists and other technical colleagues... The sun rises at 8:20 a.m. in Istanbul, 8:34 a.m. in Paris and 8.30 a.m. in Berlin. There are no problems there; I find it hard to understand why we have problems," he added.  

Bayraktar also addressed the topic of oil production in Gabar, saying, "As of now, it has reached a daily oil production level of about 30 thousand barrels. Hopefully, we will continue to work intensively to increase production to 100,000 barrels by the end of 2024."