RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Anyone who wakes up early must have noticed: daybreak in Rio is starting before 4:00 AM, something that had not happened in almost 35 years. But this is not an atypical phenomenon: it is a consequence of the cancellation of daylight saving time.
The special regime was revoked in April by President Jair Bolsonaro, putting an end to a sequence that had been going on since November 1985.
The 2019/2020 summer time season should have started last weekend if it were to follow what has been adopted in recent years – so much so that reports poured down on social media that cell phones were pushed one hour ahead at midnight on Sunday, October 20th. The “bug” has now been fixed.
As Rio de Janeiro – along with the Southeast and South regions and part of the Midwest – will not be setting the clock this summer, brightness, naturally higher this time of year, will be noticed earlier and earlier. In December, the day will be dawning at 3:33 AM.
“Hotéis Rio”, an organization representing the tourism sector in the city, argues that daylight saving time “is relevant for tourist activity”.
“Summer is the season in Rio de Janeiro, it is the face of the city”, says Alfredo Lopes, president of Hotéis Rio. “People stay on the beach until late, playing sports, bars are working… and people working in companies see that fantastic sunset when they leave the office”, he lists as advantages.
“I don’t know about other cities, but in Rio, we lose a lot of energy,” Lopes says. “In terms of consumption, spending, revenue, jobs,” he says.
“Tourism in Rio loses money. The greatest loss is that you don’t get to record your high season,” Lopes says.
Source: G1