Evaluating Two Timezones and Daylight Saving Time for India
نویسندگان
چکیده
Recently, there has been considerable debate on redefining Indian Standard Time (IST). The suggestions include splitting the country into two timezones, while perhaps introducing daylight saving time (DST). We argue that the IST should remain unchanged. The arguments are centred around India’s geography, nation building and practical concerns. The most compelling reason offered in favour of a new IST is better utilization of the power grid. We argue that the issue of timezones or DST and that of power grid utilization are two separate policy questions. They should be disentangled and addressed separately. 1 Why does DST exist ? Let us start with some geography. The length of the day depends on the latitude. Higher latitudes have shorter days in winter and longer days in summer. Every point on the earth gets an equal amount of sunlight throughout the year. Since the earth’s axis is tilted, the latitude determines how sunlight is distributed throughout the year. Lower latitudes (close to the equator) have days and nights of equal length (roughly twelve hours) throughout the year. On the other extreme are the poles, which have a six month long day followed by a six month long night. The idea of DST is due to William Willett. The basic idea revolves around using the short hours of daylight more productively in the winter by setting the clock back. It was enforced during World War I in England, primarily to conserve coal. The merits and demerits of DST are discussed in the Wikipedia entry for DST [1]. Figure 1: Daylight Saving Time worldwide. Blue regions use DST, red regions never used DST, and orange regions used DST in the past. Image courtesy of Wikipedia [1]. DST is not commonly used, as seen in Figure 1. The parts coloured blue use DST. The red parts never used DST, whereas the orange parts stopped using DST. It is interesting to note that in the case of many countries, the decision to use DST is not a nationwide decision, but a local decision. The US state of Arizona does not follow DST, even though other states do. 2 Why is DST not suitable for
منابع مشابه
Daylight saving time transitions and hospital treatments due to accidents or manic episodes
BACKGROUND Daylight saving time affects millions of people annually but its impacts are still widely unknown. Sleep deprivation and the change of circadian rhythm can trigger mental illness and cause higher accident rates. Transitions into and out of daylight saving time changes the circadian rhythm and may cause sleep deprivation. Thus it seems plausible that the prevalence of accidents and/or...
متن کاملThe effects of daylight and daylight saving time on US pedestrian fatalities and motor vehicle occupant fatalities.
This paper analyzes the effects of daylight and daylight saving time (DST) on pedestrian and motor vehicle occupant fatalities in the United States. Multivariate analyses of county level data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System for 2-week periods in 1998 and 1999 are used. Results show that full year daylight saving time would reduce pedestrian fatalities by 171 per year, or by 13% of a...
متن کاملChanging to daylight saving time cuts into sleep and increases workplace injuries.
The authors examine the differential influence of time changes associated with Daylight Saving Time on sleep quantity and associated workplace injuries. In Study 1, the authors used a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health database of mining injuries for the years 1983-2006, and they found that in comparison with other days, on Mondays directly following the switch to Daylight Sa...
متن کاملDaylight Saving Time Transitions and Road Traffic Accidents
Circadian rhythm disruptions may have harmful impacts on health. Circadian rhythm disruptions caused by jet lag compromise the quality and amount of sleep and may lead to a variety of symptoms such as fatigue, headache, and loss of attention and alertness. Even a minor change in time schedule may cause considerable stress for the body. Transitions into and out of daylight saving time alter the ...
متن کاملInfluence of summer daylight saving time on scattered erythemal solar ultraviolet exposures.
The research question of whether there are any influences in the scattered or diffuse erythemal UV exposures to a horizontal plane over a five month period due to the change from standard time to daylight saving time, has been investigated by using physical measurements and applying them to both standard time and daylight saving time. The diffuse erythemal UV was considered for fixed lunch brea...
متن کامل