Lots of people hate changing their clocks when daylight saving time begins in March, but the European Union seemed prepared to do more than just complain about it: In March 2019, the European Parliament voted to dispense entirely with biannual clock changes.

Northern Hemisphere

Tropic of Capricorn

The terms “spring forward” and “fall back” are used to describe a practice of changing standard time with the intention of “saving” (as in, making better use of) natural light. During daylight savings time (DST), clocks are turned ahead one hour, so that the sun rises later in the morning and sets later in the evening.

In March 2021, a bipartisan bill called the “Sunshine Protection Act of 2021” was submitted for consideration in the U.S. Senate. The bill aims to end the time change and make DST permanent across the United States.

Japan, India, and China are the only major industrialized countries that do not observe some form of daylight saving.

“However, without DST, sunrise that same day would be 8:35 a.m., which means morning services would not finish until 9:15 a.m.” This would make it a challenge for religious Jews and Muslims who work nine to five to attend services and get to work on time.

The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time (called “Summer Time” in many places in the world) is to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. If you live near the equator, day and night are nearly the same length (12 hours).

Hawaii and Arizona are the only two states in the U.S. that do not observe daylight savings time. However, several overseas territories do not observe daylight savings time. Those territories include American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.