A few weeks before the month of Ramadan, Moroccans are awaiting the government’s announcement of the return to GMT time. This year, according to astronomical calculations, the changeover to GMT time will take place on Sunday February 23, 2025, at three in the morning.
And after Aid Al-Fitr, legal time will be advanced by 60 minutes, as is the case every year.
Note that several voices have been raised in favor of the cancellation of the GMT+1 timetable since the decision to make it the official timetable in the Kingdom throughout the year (except Ramadan). These voices cite in particular the negative effects of this schedule on health, both physical and mental. Indeed, many people have expressed their anger and felt that this schedule disrupts their lives and impacts their health and their sleep.
“It is unclear why the government refuses to give up GMT+1 time. It’s a schedule that complicates our daily lives,” commented one Internet user. “During the cold, students actually leave the house in the dark and go back to sleep on the school bus and the majority of citizens turn on their lights early in the morning. The extra hour is therefore of no use,” said another.
Let us also remember that according to astronomical calculations, Ramadan will begin on Sunday March 2, 2025 in Morocco. The fasting period begins at the start of the new moon and ends at the start of the next lunar cycle. Even if the calculations make it possible to know precisely the day of the new moon, Moroccan tradition requires that the star be observable with the naked eye.
-As usual, the official announcement will be made by the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs after the sighting of the new moon.
The calculations also reveal that Eid al-Fitr in Morocco will be celebrated on March 31, which means that the month of Ramadan will not have 30 days, but 29 days.
H.M.
Morocco
