Islanders living on Greenland moved their clocks forward for daylight savings for the final time. Unlike most of Europe, the Greenlanders will leave their clocks untouched this autumn.
While Europe and the US debates whether to stick to the twice-yearly practice, Greenland - a vast Danish semi-independent territory in the Arctic - has resolved to perennially remain only three hours behind Copenhagen and most other European countries. This is instead of finding itself four hours behind in the darker months.
Greenland's parliament, Inatsisartut, voted to stick to daylight saving time year-round on November 24 last year. Officials say it will give Greenlanders another hour of daylight in the afternoons and more time to do business with Europe and farther afield.
"The shift of time zone marks an exciting new beginning, an equal connection to North America and Europe, and an opportunity to slow down in a fast-paced world," Visit Greenland, the local government's tourism office said in a statement. Geographically, sparsely-populated Greenland belongs to the North American continent but geopolitically, it is in Europe.
Greenland is part the Danish Realm and its southernmost tip is nearly 2,000 miles west of Copenhagen. Its 56,000 people are mainly Inuit, indigenous people who chiefly live on the west coast in small towns and hamlets or remote coastal settlements.
