Arctic North Norway wants to have a 26 HOUR day: Strange plan would see clocks rise to 13 instead of 12

Arctic northern Norway has unveiled a bizarre plan to introduce a 26-hour day, which would see clocks rise to 13 instead of 12.

The mayor of the remote town of Vadso in Finnmark county, in the Arctic Circle, sent the proposal to the European Commission to ‘offer people the opportunity to enjoy more quality time’ with their families, political reports.

Wenche Pedersen, who wrote the letter to the EU, asked the commission to allow Norway to create a time zone where days are 26 hours long instead of 24.

When asked how this could be achieved, he said the clock would move to 13, but added: “I don’t think they’re going to say yes, so we haven’t thought through all the details.”

Pedersen said the goal of the 26-hour day would be to give people more time to engage in “activities like fishing, hunting, learning new languages ​​or just being with loved ones” as part of the region’s effort to attract more visitors. .

The plan is to highlight the “unique lifestyle” of the northern Arctic, which Pedersen said involves residents focusing more on spending time with their loved ones rather than rushing to take public transportation or traveling long distances to get to the job.

Vadso, which is close to the Russian border, hopes the longer days will attract new residents to live in the remote region, which Pedersen said is now “more important than ever” in light of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“We are one of the richest regions in Europe because […] “We have more time,” the mayor told Politico.

Pedersen acknowledged that the request is unlikely to be granted; The plan would at least generate some publicity for the remote Arctic region.

Making the request to the European Commission would likely have been unsuccessful anyway, as one official told Politico that countries set time zones themselves, not the EU.