Most people in the U.S. will soon face the first time change of the year, as daylight saving time goes into effect this weekend.
Not everyone likes it, but the practice of setting clocks forward by one hour is an old one. It debuted in 1918, during World War I, but was repudiated in 1919 after farmers rejected it.
“The sun, not the clock, dictated farmers’ schedules, so daylight saving time was very disruptive for them,” according to History.com. “Farmers had to wait an extra hour for the dew to appear to start harvesting. Hired workers worked less, as they left at the same time at the end of the day.
Daylight saving time was then reimplemented when the nation’s time zones were standardized with the Uniform Time Act in 1966.
Here’s what you need to know about the start of daylight saving time in 2025.
When does daylight saving time start this year?
Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 9, at 2 a.m. local time.
What happens during this period?
Daylight saving time is the period between March and November when most Americans set their clocks forward by one hour.
We lose an hour in March to have more daylight in the summer evenings. In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox occurs on March 20, marking the start of the spring season.
When does daylight saving time end?
Daylight saving time ends on Sunday, November 2, when we regain the hour lost in March.
Who does not observe daylight saving time?
Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time. Because of its desert climate, Arizona does not follow daylight saving time (except for the Navajo Nation). After most of the U.S. adopted the Uniform Time Act, the state realized there was no good reason to adjust clocks to make sunset occur an hour later during the warmer months of the year.
Trump has taken no action so far to end daylight saving time
President Donald Trump stated in December that “the Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate daylight saving time,” on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns.
The change, however, requires an act of Congress, which has not seen a significant push on the matter until now.
On the other hand, bills to make daylight saving time permanent year-round have withered in both houses of Congress.
Source: USA Today