Canary Islands soon to be the last region in Europe using Greenwich Mean Time?

Canary Islands could be Europe's last outpost for time

The Canaries could soon be the only region in Europe using the so called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) - the "Hour Zero" in the international time zone system.

Great Britain is currently considering introducing "double day light saving", which means switching over to Central European time year around.

The Canary Islands are today on the same time zone as Great Britain and Ireland. If Great Britain switches over, Ireland are expected soon to follow, and switch to "Zulu-time". If this happens, the Canary Islands will be the only region using the old standard. The rest of Europe will be ahead.

Consequently no other region will be using the old standard "Greenwich Mean Time", which it was named after a famous observatory by the name Greenwich a few miles outside of London.

A proposal has been submitted to the British Parliament, suggesting the country to switch their time system. The proposal suggests a three trial period, which would commence after the next regular season of day light savings ends.

There are several arguments for making this switch, the most significant being more daylight hours, which means a lot for the northern part of Great Britain, and especially Scotland.

Many also believe that households will save energy by not needing as much lighting indoors, as days appear longer. Some also point out the possibility of the rate of traffic accidents being positively effected by the change, thanks to less people driving after dark.

In a public opinion poll made by The Daily Telegraph, the proposal is supported by 59 % of the population of Northern England. Paradoxically, it is estimated to be supported by merely 40 % of the Scots.

Great Britain has been using the Central European standard time once before, during the Second World War, but switched back to Greenwich Middle Time in 1944.