Middle East DST Roundup - Syria and Lebanon announce Switch Dates
Published 28-Mar-2013
Several countries in the Middle East have recently announced when they will switch to Daylight Saving Time (DST) in 2013. Here is an overview of DST switches in the Middle East in the first half of 2013.
Mosque in Aleppo, Syria
©iStockphoto.com/jasminam
DST dates Worldwide - first half of 2013
DST dates Worldwide - second half of 2013
Syria: DST begins on March 29, 2013
Clocks in Syria will be advanced by one hour at midnight (00:00), local time between Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29, 2013. The switch will occur at the same time as Palestine's transition into Daylight Saving Time. Israel will also begin observing DST on March 29, but 2 hours later.
Read more about this year's DST switches in Israel and Palestine.
Lebanon: DST begins on March 31, 2013
Lebanon will begin observing DST 2 days later. At midnight (00:00), local time between Saturday, March 30 and Sunday, March 31, 2013, clocks there will spring forward one hour to 1am (01:00). The date of the switch is in step with the DST schedule followed by most European countries.
No Clock Change in Jordan and Egypt
In 2012, the government of Jordan abolished seasonal time change, so the country and its capital Amman is already observing DST. Clocks in Jordan will not change in the first half of 2013. The authorities are yet to announce if the new rule will remain in effect in the second half of 2013. All future DST switches are therefore classified as preliminary.
Egypt has refrained from using DST since 2011. It is expected that the country will not observe DST in 2013 either.
Time in the Middle East
All countries listed above observe Eastern European Time ( EET) as standard time and Eastern European Summer Time ( EEST) when Daylight Saving Time is in force. EET is 2 hours, EEST is 3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC). The local time in Israel has the same UTC offset but it is referred to as Israel Standard Time ( IST) and Israel Daylight Time ( IDT).
However, because Jordan currently observes DST year-round, so the local time there is 1 hour ahead of the time in the other Middle Eastern countries. After March 31, Egypt will be the only country in this area still observing EET.
Use our Time Zone Map to get an overview
timeanddate.com will provide updates on this and other time zone news as events unfold.