With Ramadan just a few days away, Moroccans and non-Moroccans living in the North African country will have to switch their clocks back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on Sunday, March 10 at 3 a.m.
Switching the GMT will technically take place during the transition from Saturday night to Sunday as 3 a.m. marks the onset of the new day.
Morocco suspends daylight saving time annually a few days ahead of the holy month of Ramadan as the GMT+ timing affects the fasting time.
Morocco is expected to fast the first day of Ramadan 2024 on March 12, according to converging astronomical calculations.
The Moroccan Islamic Ministry will confirm the official date of Ramadan following the crescent moon sighting, which is expected to take place on Sunday this week.
Morocco will go back to daylight saving time of GMT+1 again a few days after Ramadan. The holy month lasts 29 to 30 days.
Morocco adopted the daylight saving measure in 2008, switching clocks to GMT+ during the summer season.
Since then Morocco has taken to switching the clock every summer to DST, GMT+1, and returning to the old standard time, GMT, for a period when Ramadan fell in the summer.
It was not until 2018 that Morocco adopted daylight saving time on a permanent basis.
The decision to adopt GMT+ permanently stirred nationwide frustration, with many Moroccans protesting the measure and questioning its relevance or effectiveness.
In response, the government maintained that the goal of the measure was to increase the competitiveness of the national economy through the reduction of energy consumption and the time difference between Morocco and its major trading partners.
