Time in Lebanon
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File:Lebanon (orthographic projection).svg
Lebanon alternates between Eastern European Time (EET) (UTC+02:00) and Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) (UTC+03:00), because it follows the annual daylight saving time procedure. As such Lebanon begins observing EEST on the last Sunday in March at 00:00, and switches back to EET on the last Sunday of October at 00:00.{{Cite web |title=Time Zone & Clock Changes in Beirut, Lebanon |url=https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/lebanon/beirut |access-date=2022-01-03 |website=www.timeanddate.com |language=en}}
Postponed time change in 2023
On 23 March 2023, two days before the scheduled switch to Eastern European Summer Time (EEST), Lebanon's government postponed the change from 25 March to 20 April.{{Cite news |title=Lebanon Postpones Daylight Saving Time Adoption |url=https://www.mtv.com.lb/en/news/local/1352516/lebanon-postpones-daylight-saving-time-adoption |access-date=2023-03-25 |publisher=MTV Lebanon |language=en}} (This came within days of a DST postponement also being announced in Palestine.{{cite web |title=Palestine postpones DST until after Ramadan |url=https://time.is/time_zone_news/palestine_postpones_dst_until_after_ramadan |publisher=Time.is |access-date=1 June 2023 |date=2023-03-22}}{{cite news |last1=Abdulrahim |first1=Raja |title=A Battle Over Daylight Saving Time Raises Tensions in Lebanon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/27/world/middleeast/lebanon-daylight-saving-time.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=1 June 2023 |date=27 March 2023}}) No official explanation was given, but local media suggested the change was made to avoid disruption during the month of Ramadan,{{Cite news |last=Alberti |first=Mia |date=2023-03-25 |title=Daylight Saving row leaves Lebanon on brink of two timezones |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/25/middleeast/lebanon-daylight-savings-intl/index.html |access-date=2023-03-25 |publisher=CNN International |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Turak |first=Natasha |date=2023-03-27 |title=Lebanon wakes up in two simultaneous time zones as government can't agree on daylight saving change |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/27/lebanon-in-two-different-time-zones-as-government-disagrees-on-daylight-savings.html |access-date=2024-01-08 |publisher=CNBC |language=en}} during which some Muslims fast from sunrise till sunset. Due to the lateness of the announcement, smart devices with "automatic time" enabled changed the time on the originally scheduled date of 25 March, and some major media outlets, including MTV, LBCI and OTV, announced that they will not abide by the decision.{{Cite news |date=2023-03-25 |title=Several media outlets, other sectors will not abide by decision to postpone daylight savings shift |url=https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1332702/tv-channels-media-outlets-announce-they-will-not-abide-to-decision-to-postpone-daylight-savings-shift.html |access-date=2023-03-25 |work=L'Orient–Le Jour}} Different religious communities in Lebanon observed the shift independently.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-65079574 |lang=en-GB |last=Astier |first=Henri |title=Lebanon wakes up in two rival time zones |work=BBC News Online |date=2023-03-26 |accessdate=2023-03-26}} As a result, some places or regions in Lebanon temporarily used different time zones, causing mass confusion.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} On 27 March, Lebanon's prime minister Najib Mikati announced that EEST would be used starting at midnight of 29 March.{{Cite news |title=Lebanon changes unpopular move to delay daylight saving time |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/lebanon-unpopular-move-delay-daylight-saving-time-98148654 |access-date=2023-03-27 |publisher=ABC News |language=en}}
References
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{{Asia topic|Time in}}
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