When do the clocks change? (2024)

FAQs

When do the clocks change? ›

Today, most Americans spring forward (turn clocks ahead and lose an hour) on the second Sunday in March (at 2:00 A.M.) and fall back (turn clocks back and gain an hour) on the first Sunday in November (at 2:00 A.M.).

Hawaii and most of Arizona, as well as all U.S. territories, have made that change, while lawmakers in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Washington and West Virginia have recently introduced bills to do the same.

When does daylight saving time begin in 2024? Daylight saving time will begin for 2024 on Sunday, March 10 at 2 a.m. local time, when our clocks will move forward an hour, part of the twice-annual time change that affects most, but not all, Americans. A dog weighs in on daylight saving time:'I eat one hour later?

Dozens of states continue to consider proposals to adopt either permanent daylight saving time or permanent standard time. Yet, no states have adopted a legislative change since 2022. Without new movement on proposed changes, Americans should expect clock changes to continue into 2024.

We lose an hour in March to "spring forward" by adding more daylight in the evenings. And we gain an hour in November and "fall back" by adding more daylight in the mornings. The first day of spring is Tuesday, March 19, nine days after the time change.

The most notable downside of year-round daylight saving time would come in the winter, when many areas would not see the sun rise until long after most people are out of bed and off to work or school. For example, the sunrise in eastern Pennsylvania would be after 8 a.m. from late November until the middle of February.

In the early 1970s, America was facing an energy crisis so the government tried an experiment. Congress passed a law to make daylight saving time permanent year round, but just for two years. The thinking was more sunlight in the evening would reduce the nation's energy consumption.

The Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15 U.S. Code Section 260a) [see law], signed into Public Law 89-387 on April 12, 1966, by President Lyndon Johnson, created Daylight Saving Time to begin on the last Sunday of April and to end on the last Sunday of October.

The idea is to move an hour of sunlight from the early morning to the evening, so that people can make more use of daylight. Benjamin Franklin is often credited as the first to suggest it in the 18th century, after he realized he was wasting his Parisian mornings by staying in bed.

Daylight saving in 2024 starts Sunday March 10, 2024 at 2 a.m. Newly proposed state legislation aims to repeal Daylight saving time and put California permanently on Standard time: but not everyone is 'springing forward' in support of this idea. "This is like a hill I would die on," said San Diegan Sarah Giovannotto.

Has the Sunshine Protection Act been passed? ›

No iteration of the bill has passed the House.

What if we keep standard time instead? Our changes would be during the summer months since our current system has us in standard time in winter. Our sunrise in June would be 4:14 a.m. instead of 5:14 a.m., and the sunset would be 7:30 p.m. instead of 8:30 p.m.

George Hudson was the first to propose modern DST, in 1895. New Zealand entomologist George Hudson first proposed modern DST. His shift-work job gave him spare time to collect insects and led him to value after-hours daylight.

Unless, of course, you live in one of two states that don't observe daylight saving time. Then this Sunday is just like every other Sunday. Hawaii and most of Arizona stay in one time zone year-round, meaning they don't switch their clocks in March and November like the rest of us.

“Mounting evidence shows the dangers of seasonal time changes, which have been linked to increased medical errors, motor vehicle accidents, increased hospital admissions, and other problems,” Jennifer Martin, a licensed clinical psychologist and president of the AASM, said in a press release.

Instead of turning the clocks at midnight, as might be expected, the time change happens at 2 a.m. because of railroad schedules. When DST was introduced during World War I, it was one of the few times when there were no trains traveling on the tracks.

The Texas House Votes to Permanently Stay on Daylight Saving Time. In April 2023, In House Bill 1422, by a vote of 138-5, the Texas Legislature said goodbye to changing your clocks twice a year.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A bipartisan Ohio bill to urge observing daylight saving time permanently has taken another step forward at the Statehouse after passing the House last year.

The South Carolina Legislature voted in 2020 to make daylight saving time permanent.