Malta sets clocks one hour ahead Sunday night

The coming Sunday sees the launch of summer daylight saving time (DST), which means clocks are to be set one hour forward on 31 March; Sunday night. Officially, clocks are set forward at 2:00 am to 3:00 am.

As a result of the time change, sunrise and sunset will occur approximately one hour later on Sunday then before, leading to more sunlight in the evenings after.

This event is often referred to as spring forward, the launch of summer time, or daylight savings time.

The daylight saving time ends, at least for the time being, on 27 October, Sunday, when clocks at 3:00 am are set back one hour to 2:00 am, scheduling sunrise and sunset an hour earlier. That is also referred to as fall back or the launch of winter time.

The Maltese government also confirmed the end of winter time in a press statement by the Department of Information (DOI) this afternoon.

Crowns might stay intact as of 2021

Due to currently ongoing discussions about the practicality of daylight savings, the custom of setting clocks an hour ahead and backwards can come to a halt in the upcoming years.

On 26 March 2019, The European Parliament voted in favour of backing a European Union Committee draft that aims to put a stop at the one-hour clock changes in the European Union, another formal step toward a permanent elimination of DST in the bloc. Based on the proposal, EU ministers are expected to produce a final law that could scrap DST by 2021.

Supporters of scrapping the DST say that road accidents and sleep troubles amplify in the period of changing the time, while energy savings — the primary reason for the DST — are not conclusive.