Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 9, 2025; time to "Spring Forward" your clocks!
At the present time in the United States, Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins at 2:00 am in each time zone, on the second Sunday in March - March 9, 2025 - with the exceptions of the U.S. states of Hawaii and Arizona, and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Guam.
When you go to bed on Saturday night, March 8, 2025, you should set your clocks FORWARD by one hour, which can be remembered by the mnemonic "Spring Forward." By setting the time one hour later, we effectively 'lose' an hour of time or sleep during the night!
Daylight Saving Time currently ENDS on the first Sunday in November - this year on Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 2:00 pm in each time zone, when we revert back to Standard Time, or 'regular time,' in our time zone. When we go to bed on Saturday night, November 1, 2025, we should set our clocks BACK by one hour, or one hour earlier, effectively 'gaining' an hour during the night. The fall time change can be remembered by the mnemonic "Fall Back."
CHECK SMOKE ALARMS AND RE-SET IRRIGATION TIMERS
The beginning and ending of Daylight Saving Time is commonly used as the time to replace batteries in smoke alarms. Check to see if smoke alarms are in working order, and set irrigation timers one hour earlier, if you have an automated irrigation system.
When testing a smoke alarm, it should sound when the "test" button is pressed. A good rule of thumb is to replace the alarm if it doesn't work properly when tested after replacing the batteries, or if the alarm is more than 10 years old.
Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of your home, including the basement, and in or near sleeping areas.
For the best protection, equip your home with a combination of ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms, or dual-sensor alarms. Interconnected alarms, alarms that all sound when one sounds, are available at most stores that sell smoke alarms.
HAVE AN EMERGENCY ESCAPE PLAN AND MEETING PLACE
Make sure that everyone in your home knows how to respond when a smoke alarm sounds, or when a disaster, fire or other emergency strikes. Review your emergency plan, or make a plan, to escape from your home, to ensure that everyone knows what to in an emergency to safely and quickly get out of the home, and that everyone knows where to meet after the emergency has passed. Plan to meet in a place that’s a safe distance from your house and in an area where first responders can easily see you.
HISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
In 1784, American inventor Benjamin Franklin, who was then living in France, wrote a satirical letter to the editor of Journal de Paris, suggesting that French citizens could conserve candles and money by syncing their schedules with the sun, regardless of the actual time.
In 1895, George Vernon Hudson, a postal worker and entomologist living in New Zealand, suggested moving clocks ahead by two hours in the spring to extend daylight hours. For him, the time shift would ensure that he would have daylight time to hunt for bugs after his working hours at the post office. His proposal was initially ridiculed, but in 1927, New Zealand’s Parliament gave daylight saving a trial, and the Royal Society of New Zealand awarded Hudson a medal for his ingenuity.
In 1916, Germany became the first country to enact Hudson’s idea as an energy-saving move in the midst of World War I, and several countries followed suit: North America, Europe, parts of the Middle East, and New Zealand.
In March 1918, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation that created the country’s five time zones. That same month, on Easter Sunday 1918, daylight saving time went into effect for the first time. Wilson chose 2:00 a.m., a time when no passenger trains were running in New York City, as the time for the time adjustment. Even today, 2:00 a.m. is still considered the least intrusive time for the time adjustment. Holiday celebrations were thrown off by the time changes; Americans complained that the time change diminished attendance at religious services, reduced early morning recreation, and provided too much daylight, which some claimed destroyed landscaping. The time shift was temporary, repealed in 1919, after 7 months, at the end of World War I, not to be seen again on the federal level until World War II. However, some cities and states adjusted their clocks in spring and fall, as they saw fit.
During World War II, U.S, President Franklin Roosevelt re-established a form of daylight saving time, called War Time, that ran from February 1942 through September 1945, when it was ditched at the end of World War II.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966 established a yearly time change, Daylight Saving Time, to begin on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October. The Uniform Time Act further standardized time zones and standardized the start and end dates for Daylight Saving Time, among other things.
To save energy during the oil embargo in 1973, the United States Congress ordered a year-round Daylight Saving Time, to run from January 1974 to April 1975. However, when the plan was unsuccessful at saving energy, the U.S. switched back to Standard Time in October 1974.
From 1987 through 2006, Daylight Saving Time started on the first Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October.
In 2007, Daylight Saving Time was changed, to begin on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November, which is still in effect.
Every state in the United States, with the exceptions of Hawaii and Arizona, currently observe daylight saving time. U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Guam, do not currently observe Daylight Saving Time.
In countries close to the equator, which don’t experience major seasonal changes in day length, it’s more common to not make clock adjustments. In total, around 70 countries observe the time shift.
Daylight Saving Time (DST) is observed in the United States, Canada, and Australia. A similar measure, called Summer Time, is observed in European Union, and several other countries. In the United Kingdom, the time change is called British Summer Time (BST).
PROS AND CONS OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Many farmers — who may benefit in some ways from the extra hour of light in the afternoon — have lobbied against the time change since it was first enacted in 1918, partially because it’s confusing for dairy cows and goats, throwing off their feeding and milking schedules. Some farmers say the loss of morning light also makes it more difficult to complete necessary chores early in the day, and impacts how they harvest and move crops to market.
Many in the golf industry have campaigned to keep Daylight Saving Time, as the extra daylight brings more putters to the courses, generating millions in golf gear sales and game fees.
Many statistics show, that after Daylight Saving Time was extended to November in 2007, the extra hour of daylight has been a boon to retail sales, gardening, and many sports, such as golfing, baseball and tennis.
The barbecue industry sells more grills and charcoal in months with longer daylight hours, and candy companies benefit from longer trick-or-treating hours on Halloween.
Clock shifts to and from Daylight Saving Time can potentially disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, and sleep patterns. However, computer software programs generally adjust clocks automatically to avoid problems with the time changes.
"Daylight Saving Time is observed for several reasons," according to the Department of Transportation, the agency in charge of time zones and Daylight Saving Time, on March 10, 2014: "It saves energy. During Daylight Saving Time, the sun sets one hour later in the evenings, so the need to use electricity for household lighting and appliances is reduced. People tend to spend more time outside in the evenings during Daylight Saving Time, which reduces the need to use electricity in the home. Also, because the sunrise is very early in the morning during the summer months, most people will awake after the sun has already risen, which means they turn on fewer lights in their homes. It saves lives and prevents traffic injuries. During Daylight Saving Time, more people travel to and from school and work and complete errands during the daylight. It reduces crime. During Daylight Saving Time, more people are out conducting their affairs during the daylight rather than at night, when more crime occurs."
Since 2015, at least 350 bills and resolutions have been introduced in virtually every state, but none of significance passed until 2018, when Florida became the first state to enact legislation to permanently observe DST, pending the potential amendment of federal law to permit such an action.
In the last few years, 19 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to provide for year-round Daylight Saving Time, if Congress were to allow such a change, and in some cases if surrounding states would enact similar legislation. Because federal law does not currently allow full-time DST, Congress would have to act before states could adopt changes. The 19 states with resolutions to provide for year-round Daylight Saving Time are: Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi and Montana (2021); Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio (resolution), South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming (2020); Arkansas, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington (2019); Florida (2018). California voters also authorized such a change (2018), but legislative action is pending. States that have commissioned studies on DST include Massachusetts (2017) and Maine (2021).
On January 8, 2025, during the 119th Congress, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rick Scott (R-FL) reintroduced the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act, which is legislation to end the twice-yearly time change and make Daylight Saving Time permanent nationwide. Supporters of the Sunshine Protection Act include the following Senators: Katie Britt (R-AL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Ed Markey (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Rand Paul (R-KY), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Tina Smith (D-MN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
There is evidence that making Daylight Saving Time permanent could benefit the American economy and public health. Studies have shown that economic activity is reduced during Standard Time, and permanent Daylight Saving Time could lead to greater energy and electricity savings. Given an extra hour of afternoon sunlight, Americans exercise more frequently during Daylight Saving Time. Research also suggests that the extra hour of afternoon sun leads to fewer car accidents and evening robberies.