Olivia Vane

@oliviafvane.bsky.social

Data visualisation design + code Interactive data journalist at The Economist oliviavane.co.uk

In Morocco the interplay between Ramadan, which moves with the lunar calendar, and daylight saving left the government changing clocks up to 4 times a year. Shifting daylight saving to avoid Ramadan helps Muslims observing the holy month, so they don’t have to delay breaking their fast.

A heatmap titled "Sunrise time in Morocco" shows the shift in sunrise times from 2007 to 2024 across each month (January to December). Colours range from light (earlier sunrise) to dark blue (later sunrise). Each row represents a different year, with daylight saving time and Ramadan periods marked. 

From 2008 onwards, daylight saving is observed in morocco, but it's start and end dates move to avoid Ramadan. In 2018, Morocco moves to permanent daylight saving, except during Ramadan.