That coveted extra hour for millions of Americans will come in early November, as the clocks “fall back” an hour and daylight saving time comes to an end for the year.
It will pick up again in March, when the clocks “spring forward” and we lose an hour. The twice-annual time change is meant to add more daylight in the mornings and evenings, depending on the time of year and the Northern Hemisphere’s position from the sun.
The time change can be jarring, throwing off the sleep patterns and altering internal schedules for young children and pets. But like it or not, the time change is coming in just a few days.
When does daylight saving time end in 2024?
Daylight saving time will end for the year at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 3, when we “fall back” and gain an extra hour of sleep.
Next year, it will begin again on Sunday, March 9, 2025.
What is Daylight Saving Time (DST)?
Daylight saving time is the time between March and November when most Americans adjust their clocks ahead by one hour.
We gain an hour in November (as opposed to losing an hour in the spring) to make for more daylight in the winter mornings. When we “spring forward” in March, it’s to add more daylight in the evenings. In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox is Sunday, Sept. 22, marking the start of the fall season.
The move to end DST is Stalled in Congress
The push to stop changing clocks was put before Congress in the last couple of years, when the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act in 2022, a bill to make daylight saving time permanent.
Although the Sunshine Protection Act was passed unanimously by the Senate in 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives did not pass it and President Joe Biden did not sign it. A 2023 version of the act remained idle in Congress, as well.
Does Every State Observe Daylight Saving Time?
Not all states and U.S. territories participate in daylight saving time.
Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time. Because of its desert climate, Arizona doesn’t follow daylight saving time (with the exception of the Navajo Nation). After most of the U.S. adopted the Uniform Time Act, the state figured that there wasn’t a good reason to adjust clocks to make sunset occur an hour later during the hottest months of the year.
There are also five other U.S. territories that do not participate:
- American Samoa
- Guam
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Puerto Rico
- U.S. Virgin Islands
The Navajo Nation, located in parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, does follow daylight saving time.
Hawaii is the other state that does not observe daylight saving time. Because of its proximity to the equator, there is not a lot of variance between hours of daylight during the year.
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