Daylight saving time (DST) is the practice of changing clocks in spring and fall to gain an extra hour of daylight during warmer months. It reduces the need for artificial lighting, may lower traffic accidents, and can affect health and crime rates. The timing varies by country, with the US starting on the second Sunday in March and ending on the first Sunday in November. Some countries call it Summer Time. Southern hemisphere countries push their clocks forward in October. Equatorial countries do not change their clocks.
Daylight saving time (DST), popularly but erroneously called daylight saving time, is the practice of changing clocks, across an entire nation, in spring and fall. Many people are familiar with the saying “leap forward, fall back”. This means that clocks are set forward one hour in the spring, resulting in an hour being lost during the night. In autumn, clocks are set back one hour.
Most of the United States (excluding Arizona and Hawaii, for example) and some other countries around the world set their clocks this way to gain an extra hour of daylight during the warmer months. In fact, this practice in some countries is called Summer Time. The effect is that during daylight saving time, the sun appears to rise 60 minutes later while setting even later in the day. These changes make the day seem longer, even if it hasn’t actually changed.
One of the major benefits of daylight saving time is the reduced need for artificial lighting. Since daylight appears to last for a longer part of the time people are usually awake and active, energy bills related to artificial lighting can be reduced. There may also be fewer traffic accidents during daylight saving time. Some people theorize that this change in clock and daylight may also have an effect on health and crime rates.
In the United States, the second Sunday in March marks the start of daylight saving time; starts at 2 in the morning. In autumn, on the first Sunday in November, the clock is set back one hour; however, that wasn’t always the case. Previously, the time change occurred four weeks earlier. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight saving time through November. This change is expected to save a large amount of oil, as businesses generally don’t need as much energy during daylight hours.
Timing may be slightly different in other parts of the world that observe daylight saving time. European countries have been observing this for some time. In 1996, however, the European Union’s European summer time was standardized. Its start and end dates differ from those in the United States. Clocks in European countries are moved forward on the last Sunday in March and turned back on the last Sunday in October.
Daylight saving time is also handled differently in the southern hemisphere countries that observe it. There, summer hits in December, so clocks are typically pushed forward to October. Countries very close to the equator don’t change their clocks this way. The hours of light they enjoy are similar in all seasons. As such, there isn’t much benefit to moving the clocks.
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