Western European Time
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2013) |
| light blue | Western European Time (UTC+0) |
| blue | Western European Time (UTC+0) Western European Summer Time (UTC+01:00) |
| pink | Central European Time (UTC+01:00) |
| brown | Central European Time (UTC+01:00) Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00) |
| yellow | Eastern European Time (UTC+02:00) Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+03:00) |
| orange | Further-eastern European Time (UTC+03:00) |
| light green | Moscow Time (UTC+04:00) |
Western European Time (WET, UTC±00:00) is a time zone covering parts of western and northwestern Europe. The following countries and regions use WET in winter months:
- Canary Islands, since 1 March 1922[1] (rest of Spain is CET, i.e. UTC+1)
- Faroe Islands, since 1908
- northeastern Greenland (Danmarkshavn and surrounding area)
- Iceland, since 1968
- Portugal, since 1911 with pauses (except Azores, UTC-1)[2]
- Republic of Ireland, since 1916, except in 1968–71. See time in the Republic of Ireland.
- The United Kingdom and its dependencies the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Here it is legally known as Greenwich Mean Time and has been in standard use in England, Scotland and Wales since 1847, and Northern Ireland since 1916. Different British time zones have been trialled for short periods during these years.[3][4][5]
All the above countries except Iceland implement daylight saving time in summer, switching to Western European Summer Time (WEST, UTC+1), which is one hour ahead of WET. WEST is called British Summer Time in the UK.
The nominal span of the time zone is 7.5°E to 7.5°W (0° ± 7.5°), but the WET zone does not include the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Gibraltar or Spain which use Central European Time (CET), even though these are mostly (France) or completely (the rest) west of 7.5°E. Conversely, Iceland and eastern Greenland are included even though both are west of 7.5°W.
Historical uses [edit]
A slight variation of this time zone, based until 1911 on the Paris Meridian, was used in:
- Andorra in years 1901-46
- Belgium in years 1892-1914 and 1919–1940
- France in years 1911-40 and 1944–45
- Gibraltar in years 1880-1957
- Luxembourg in years 1918-40
- Monaco in years 1911-45
Until the Second World War France used WET. However, the German occupation switched France to German time, and it has remained in CET since then.[6] Other occupied territories Belgium and the Netherlands did the same, while Spain also switched to CET under the order of Francisco Franco.
In the United Kingdom in years 1940-45 British Summer Time (BST=CET) was used in winters and in years 1941-45 & 1947 British Double Summer Time (BDST=CEST) was used in summers. Between 18 February 1968 and 31 October 1971 BST was used all year round.
In Ireland in years 1940-46 Irish Summer Time (IST=CET) was used all year (Ireland did not adopt similar time changes to British Double Summer Time (BDST=CEST) in 1941-45, 1947). Between 18 February 1968 and 31 October 1971 Irish Standard Time was used all year round.
In Portugal, CET was used in the periods 1966-1976 and 1992-1996.
References [edit]
- ^ "Una hora menos en Canaria: apunte histórico-jurídico" (in Spanish). University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
- ^ "Time Zones of Portugal". Statoids. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ Lighter nights would keep youngsters fitter and safer, say doctors.... Western Mail. 27 June 2005
- ^ David Ennals "British Standard Times Bill [Lords]", Hansard, House of Commomns Debate, 23 January 1968, vol 757 cc290-366, 290–92
- ^ "British Standard Time", Hansard (HC), 2 December 1970, vol 807 cc1331-422
- ^ Poulle, Yvonne (1999). "La France à l'heure allemande". Bibliothèque de l'école des chartes 157 (2): 493–502. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
