Brazil Ended Daylight Saving Time. But It Might Bring It Back

Brazil ended daylight saving time in 2019, reports the Washington Post, adding that some Brazilians loved the change, 'particularly those who commute long distances and are no longer forced to leave their houses in pitch blackness.' But 'In the heavily populated southeast, the sky begins to brighten at the unconscionable hour of 4:30 a.m. during the summer, and by 8 a.m., it feels like high noon... Polls showed it ultimately lost majority support...'

And then 'After several energy emergencies, and with the prospect of more to come as the effects of climate change intensify, the vanquished daylight saving time is suddenly looking a whole lot better than it once did to some in the Brazilian government.'

Authorities almost mandated the return of daylight saving — a portion of the calendar when clocks are turned forward to maximize seasonal daylight — late last year to conserve energy amid a historic drought that had threatened hydroelectric power generation and drove up light bills. The government is already laying the political groundwork to restore it as soon as this year...

Latin America's largest country is a global leader in green energy. An astounding 93 percent of its electricity comes from renewable sources, according to Brazil's Electric Energy Commercialization Chamber, the majority of which is hydropower. This strength, however, has also left it vulnerable to global warming. As temperatures have warmed and punishing droughts have grown more frequent, the country's water reserves have dropped precariously low at times, jeopardizing its primary source of energy. In 2021, an extended drought depleted the country's water stores, driving up light bills by an estimated 20 percent, according to the National Chamber of Electric Energy. Then came last year's drought, the worst in 70 years, and government officials started to look more seriously at daylight saving.

Alexandre Silveira [Brazil's mining and energy minister] said that month that the decision to eliminate daylight saving had been extravagance Brazil could scarcely afford. 'It was massively irresponsible, without any basis in science,' the energy official said. 'We're living in a period of denial in Brazil in all aspects.' José Sidnei Colombo Martini, an electrical engineer at the University of São Paulo, told The Washington Post that decision to end daylight saving amounted to a 'national bet on whether it is going to rain.' And the bet is expected to become increasingly risky as the years pass. 'Brazil has always had a massive amount of available water compared to other countries — storing 12 percent of the planet's surface — but this is being altered,' said Suely Araújo, public policy coordinator at the Climate Observatory. Estimates show 'we could have a 40 percent reduction in our water availability in Brazil's principal hydro regions by 2040. Brazil has entered a new reality... '
Should other countries end Daylight Saving Time? 'People and governments all over the world are having the same debate,' the article points out, 'often coming to conflicting conclusions.'
Countries including Azerbaijan, Mexico and Samoa have done away with daylight saving time. Meanwhile, Jordan, Namibia and Turkey have gone the opposite direction, opting for permanent daylight saving time. And Russia, discovering there's no way to tell time that pleases everyone, first tried permanent daylight saving time, then scuttled it.

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