Morocco’s Daylight Saving Time Starts June 1, 2009

Morocco will begin its daylight saving schedule on June 1 in 2009 despite finishing the schedule earlier than planned in 2008. The nation’s daylight saving schedule for 2009 will begin at midnight (00:00) between Sunday, May 31, and Monday, June 1, when the clocks advance forward by one hour. The nation will be on Western European Summer Time (WEST), which is UTC +1 hour, when this change occurs.

This daylight saving schedule will end at midnight (00:00) between Thursday, August 20, and Friday, August 21, 2009. The Moroccan government believes that this daylight saving arrangement would save energy and boost trade relations with other countries.

Daylight Saving Time Saves Energy and Boosts Trade

Despite an early end to daylight saving time in 2008, the Moroccan government announced in early 2009 that the nation would continue to observe daylight saving time as a way to save energy. Energy savings can be made by reducing electricity usage, particularly as the extra hour of natural sunlight in the later part of the day can minimize the need for artificial lighting.

Morocco’s Ministry of Modernization of Public Sectors said in a public announcement that the 2008 daylight saving schedule showed positive results for the country. The Ministry of Energy also conducted a study that supported the government’s decision to adopt daylight saving time in 2009.

The study showed that the daylight saving arrangement reduced the time difference between Morocco and its regional and international trade partners. This reduced time difference meant that offices in Morocco were able to improve their communications and work in synchronization with major trading partners in other countries, particularly in the European Union.

Morocco’s Time Zone

Morocco will be on Western European Summer Time (WEST), which is one hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC +1 hour, when it observes daylight saving time. It will revert to Western European Time (WET), where there is no UTC offset – in other words, the country will observe the same time as UTC/GMT – during the non-daylight saving period.