Samoa Starts Daylight Saving on September 26

Samoa will start its daylight saving time (DST) schedule on Sunday, September 26, 2010. The nation will move its clocks forward from being 11 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC-11 hours), to being 10 hours behind (UTC-10) when DST starts. DST is scheduled to end in Samoa on Sunday, April 3, 2011.

Samoa’s Daylight Saving Schedule

Samoa will begin its DST schedule at midnight (00:00) between Saturday, September 25, and Sunday, September 26, in 2010. According to Samoa’s Daylight Saving Act 2009, DST was to be enforced as soon as the Head of State executed the proclamation publicizing this Act.

In July 2010, Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister, Misa Telefoni, nominated Saturday, September 25 as the start date for DST in Samoa for the year 2010. However, timeanddate.com contacted Samoa’s Ministry of Commerce and Labor on July 28, 2010, who confirmed that DST in Samoa for the year 2010 will begin at midnight (00:00) between Saturday, September 25, and Sunday, September 26.

The nation will move its clocks forward by one hour from midnight (00:00) to 1am (01:00) local time on September 26, in 2010. The DST schedule will end in 2011 between Saturday, April 2, and Sunday, April 3, when the clocks will move back one hour from 1am (01:00) to 12am (00:00).

It is important to note that the exact start and end date of the 2010-2011 DST schedule in Samoa may have some changes in the future. At this time, the current information for DST in Samoa is according to Samoa’s Ministry of Commerce and Labor. timeanddate.com will provide more information on the DST schedule in Samoa as it becomes available.

Samoa’s Daylight Saving Bill

Daylight saving time for Samoa is a response to the need for national strategies to address the current worldwide crisis in fuel and food price increase. DST in Samoa is subject to the nation’s Daylight Saving Act 2009, which was passed by Samoa’s Parliament in 2009. The Act states that Samoa’s head of state, acting on the advice of Cabinet, may:

• Declare any period of consecutive days as a daylight saving period.
• Specify a number of hours, or parts of an hour, up to two (2) hours.
• Specify the date and time in which the daylight saving period starts and ends.

The Act also states DST will start and end at a specified time that is between midnight (00:00) on a Saturday and 6am (06:00) on a Sunday. Moreover, that during the daylight saving period, the time for general purposes throughout Samoa will be in advance of the standard time by the number of hours, or parts of an hour, specified in the Order.

Daylight saving time in Samoa aims to benefit the country by enhancing energy efficiency and increase Samoa’s economic growth. Moreover, it will increase revenue for businesses from tourists, as well as provide more time for outdoor leisure activities that can benefit people’s health.

Read more on timeanddate.com’s previous article on Samoa’s daylight saving plan for 2010 and an earlier article on why Samoa’s Cabinet approved for DST to be introduced. DST in Samoa was originally planned to start in October 2009 but the date was put on hold due to a tsunami disaster.

Note: Samoa’s DST schedule mentioned in this article does not apply to American Samoa.