Status: 26.11.2022 5:12 a.m
Greenland moves one hour closer to Europe from October. The parliament in Nuuk has decided to change the time zones for a large part of the country. The difference to New York and Copenhagen is then three hours.
Much of Greenland will change time zones in the coming year, moving an hour closer to Europe on the clock. That has the Inatsisartut – that Greenlandic Parliament in Nuuk – decided, as a spokeswoman confirmed.
According to the plans, most Greenlanders put their clocks one hour forward to daylight saving time in the spring, but not to winter time in the fall. This means that the capital of Greenland, Nuuk, is no longer in the UTC-3 time zone, but in UTC-2 – each with a three-hour time difference to New York (UTC-5) and Copenhagen (UTC+1).
Worry about health consequences
According to Greenlandic media reports, some politicians had expressed concerns that the time zone change could have consequences for the health of the population. The Greenlandic economy, on the other hand, has called for a change in order to have a greater overlap of their working day with European companies – for example in Copenhagen – it said.
The change is possible because Greenland has been able to determine its own four time zones since May, following an agreement with the Danish government. The other three time zones should not be adjusted initially.
Greenland wants to abolish daylight saving time
Several parties expressed the wish to abolish daylight saving time altogether. That was decided back in 2019, but Greenland is still waiting for the EU to do the same.
The Arctic island belongs to the Danish kingdom, but is largely self-governing. Denmark is primarily responsible for foreign and defense policy.