It’s almost time to spring forward into daylight saving

Emily DeLetter

After months of early sunsets and long hours of darkness, are you ready for longer days? ⬤ On Sunday, most of the nation will “spring forward” in daylight saving time, losing an hour of sleep to accommodate for more daylight in the summer evenings. ⬤ Daylight saving time will end for the year in November, when we set our clocks back and gain an hour of sleep. The time adjustment affects the daily lives of hundreds of millions of Americans, including contributing to less sleep in the days following. ⬤ Here’s what to know about daylight saving time in 2024.

What is daylight saving time?

Daylight saving time is the time between March and November when most Americans adjust their clocks by one hour.

On the second Sunday in March, we lose an hour to accommodate for more daylight in the summer evenings. When we “fall back” on the first Sunday in November, gaining an hour, it’s to add more daylight in the mornings.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the vernal equinox, also called the spring equinox, is March 19, marking the start of spring.

When is daylight saving time in 2024?

Daylight saving time will begin on Sunday at 2 a.m. local time, when our clocks will go ahead one hour.

Daylight saving time will end for the year Nov. 3 at 2 a.m. local time. It will pick up again next year on March 9.

Is daylight saving time ending permanently?

Legislation to stop changing clocks was put before Congress in the past couple of years. In 2022, the U.S.

Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. However, it did not pass in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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 Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation) do not observe daylight saving time, and neither do American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Hawaii does not observe because there is not a lot of variance between hours of daylight during the year, due to the state's proximity to the equator.

After most of the U.S. adopted the Uniform Time Act, Arizona 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.

The Navajo Nation – which spans parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico – does follow daylight saving time.