Winter time: Europe once again 1 hour behind Namibia

As from today, travellers from Europe arriving in Namibia will once again need to set their clocks forward by one hour. This is because Europe has switched to winter time, placing it one hour behind Namibia for the next five months.

In Europe, daylight saving time, a measure intended to save energy (see the Wikipedia article), came to an end. At 3:00 AM in the night from Saturday to Sunday, clocks were set back one hour to 2:00 AM, returning to standard Central European Time (CET).

Consequently, the flight from Europe to Namibia now appears to be one hour shorter than before. Nevertheless, travellers need not worry about jet lag. Almost all outbound and return flights take place overnight. Passengers typically depart in the afternoon or evening and arrive at their stopover or final destination in the morning.

A direct non-stop flight takes approximately ten hours, leaving plenty of time for a full night's sleep. On the return journey, that 'lost' hour is essentially 'refunded' to travellers returning from Namibia.

Unless the return flight takes place after the last Sunday in March. At that point in time Europe switches back to its 'energy-saving' daylight saving time. Which results in its clocks once again being synchronised with those in Namibia's for the next seven months.

Namibia abolished its daylight saving time system ten years ago, following nationwide consultations. Since 2017, Namibia has observed Central Africa Time (CAT) year-round. You can find more information in the article 'Time Zone & Daylight Hours', located in the 'Travel Advice' section of Namibian.org.

Since the transition to European winter time on the last Sunday in October, Europe is once again one hour behind Namibia. Graphic: Daniel FR, Wikipedia