Thawing Out a Decision: Egypt’s Shocking Return to Winter Time

Today, Thursday, winter time begins in Egypt, after the end of summer time, Egyptians are scheduled to turn their clocks back 60 minutes.

The Egyptian Council of Ministers decided to switch between summer and winter time in Egypt after 7 years of canceling this decision and the implementation started again last year (2023).

Why did the government decide to return to Egypt during the winter?

According to what Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly said, after abolishing summer time and establishing winter time all year round, the decision to return to summer and winter time is in an attempt to gain economic benefits, especially electricity supply. .

Last March, the Egyptian government announced the return of Daylight Saving Time, from the last Friday in April to the last Thursday in October, corresponding to October 31, 2024.

By reverting to daylight saving time, the sun sets later, which lengthens the day, and thus helps rationalize electricity use because, according to the Ministry of Electricity, it saves more than 1 percent of electricity costs, with an estimated value of $150 million per year.

In August 2022, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a statement, “The more we are able to rationalize our electricity consumption, the more we will succeed in saving foreign exchange; For example, if we save 10 percent of the cost of gas pumped into power plants, it will save about $300 million per month by exporting it abroad.”

Dates of implementation of winter time in Egypt

The decision to switch between summer and winter time in Egypt was made in 1945 during the government of Mahmoud Fahmy al-Naqrashi, when it was linked to efforts to avoid economic losses during World War II, fuel prices

Since then, Egypt has worked to switch between summer and winter time each year, until a decision in 2014 from former Egyptian President Adly Mansour, canceled the decision for one year, then reverted to the switch, and two years later, Especially in 2016, it was cancelled.

The repeal continued for 7 years, until Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, on April 16, 2023, approved Daylight Saving Time Amendment Law No. 34 of 2023 and returned to change it again.

Winter time is scheduled to start in Egypt this year, today, Thursday, October 31, 2024, when the clocks start at midnight, and thus Egyptians will have to delay the clocks by 60 minutes, so that it goes back to eleven in the evening instead of twelve in the morning. .

Time to close shop in winter

With the return of winter in Egypt, there will be new dates for the closure of centers and shops according to the Egyptian government’s decision, which are as follows:

Shops and Malls:

Work starts at 7 am daily and closes at 10 pm on Thursdays, Fridays and official holidays, working hours are extended to 11 pm.

Workshop and Maintenance Center

For workshops and maintenance centers located within the city, they start their work from 8 am to 6 pm.

It excludes workshops located on roads and gas stations to meet the needs of citizens

work all day

In different areas of Egyptian cities and governorates, there are some activities excluded from the closing time, which are: bakeries, pharmacies, grocery stores, fruit and vegetable stores and some cafes, in order to meet the basic needs of citizens throughout the day. .