The change always happens on a weekend, in the middle of the night, to ensure that there is limited disruption for schools and businesses. Clocks go back again on the final Sunday of October at 2. It gives us an extra precious hour of daylight in the dark autumn and winter months, with the added bonus of an extra hour in bed on the Sunday morning when the clocks change. Why do the clocks change? Initially it was rolled out to save energy and get people outside.
Why waste electricity when there is perfectly good daylight to be used? The campaign for British Summer Time came about at the beginning of the 20th century. Moving the clocks forward in the summer months would give us darker mornings but lighter, longer evenings. Congress to put clocks ahead 20 minutes on each of the four Sundays in April, and reverse the process on consecutive Sundays in September.
But his proposal was met mostly with ridicule. Attitudes changed after World War I broke out. The government and citizenry recognized the need to conserve coal used for heating homes. The Germans were the first to officially adopt the light-extending system in , as a fuel-saving measure during World War I.
However, this was amidst great public opposition. Many Americans viewed the practice as an absurd attempt to make late sleepers get up early.
The matter took on new meaning in April , when President Woodrow Wilson declared war. Suddenly, energy conservation was of paramount importance, and several efforts were launched to enlist public support for changing the clocks.
A group called the National Daylight Saving Convention distributed postcards showing Uncle Sam holding a garden hoe and rifle, turning back the hands of a huge pocket watch.
We need every hour of light. With public opinion in its favor, Congress officially declared that all clocks would be moved ahead one hour at A. Canada adopted a similar policy later the same year. Americans were encouraged to turn off their lights and go to bed earlier than they normally did—at around P. Many Americans wrongly point to farmers as the driving force behind Daylight Saving Time. In fact, farmers were its strongest opponents and, as a group, stubbornly resisted the change from the beginning.
When the war was over, the farmers and working-class people who had held their tongues began to speak out. They demanded an end to Daylight Saving Time, claiming that it benefited only office workers and the leisure class.
The controversy put a spotlight on the growing gap between rural and urban dwellers. No fewer than 28 bills to repeal Daylight Saving Time had been introduced to Congress, and the law was removed from the books. American had tolerated Daylight Saving Time for about seven months. The subject did not come up again until after the attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, , and the United States was once again at war.
Clocks were set one hour ahead to save energy. Inconsistent adherence to time zones among the states created considerable confusion with interstate bus and train service. To remedy the situation, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in , establishing consistent use of Daylight Saving Time within the United States: Clocks were to be set ahead one hour on the last Sunday in April and one hour back on the last Sunday in October.
That was the rule, but some state legislatures took exception via a loophole that had been built into the law. Residents of Hawaii and most of Arizona did not change their clocks.
Residents of Indiana, which straddles the Eastern and Central time zones, were sharply divided on Daylight Saving Time: Some counties employed it, some did not.
In , the U. Congress approved a bill to increase the period of Daylight Saving Time, moving the start to the first Sunday in April. The goal was to conserve oil used for generating electricity—an estimated , barrels annually. In , the entire state of Indiana became the 48th state to observe Daylight Saving Time. The current daylight saving period was established with the Energy Policy Act of , which went into effect in Today, most Americans spring forward turn clocks ahead and lose an hour on the second Sunday in March at A.
Some farmers point out that the Daylight Saving Time is deceptively misnamed. However, the practice has its detractors. Other experts insist that the extra hour of daylight reduces crime.
As of March , an impressive 32 states have proposed bills to end the practice of switching clocks. However, the legislation can only go into effect if the federal law changes. The Uniform Time Act would need to be amended to allow such a change. Let there be light! Why sunny spring days make us happier and healthier. Read more. Topics UK news Sleep explainers. Reuse this content. It is early enough that the entire continental U. For the U. The Navajo Nation participates in the Daylight Saving Time policy, even in Arizona, due to its large size and location in three states.
Many fire departments encourage people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors when they change their clocks because Daylight Saving Time provides a convenient reminder. More than 90 percent of homes in the United States have smoke detectors, but one-third are estimated to have dead or missing batteries. See more information about elsewhere in the world. Spring forward, Fall back During DST, clocks are turned forward an hour, effectively moving an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.
DST Ends at 2 a. Summertime period begins at 1 a.
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