EU Parliament votes to end daylight saving time

The European Parliament has voted to end daylight saving time in EU member states, a practice that became law back in 1996. Bloomberg notes that the biannual clock changes will come to an end in 2021 when individual member states will be able to decide whether they will remain on winter time or summer time permanently.

The EU first started investigating ending the practice of daylight saving time last year when it announced a Europe-wide poll to understand what the public thought about the rules. Out of the people who responded, 84 percent were in favor of clocks staying the same throughout the year. The main reason for doing so is that changing the clocks disrupts the human biorhythm, which can have severe implications for our health. The EU Commission formerly proposed ending the practice last August.

Although the rules were originally enacted to reduce energy costs, the commission said that the benefits here were inconclusive. It also said there is little evidence that changing the clocks twice a year reduces traffic accidents. In fact, in the US, one study found that automobile accidents actually increase after the clocks change.

At The Verge, we’ve long thought that daylight saving time is hot garbage, and it’s high time for the world to move on from an outdated practice that had a flimsy premise to begin with.