U.S. News

Daylight Saving Time in 2023? A Look at the Practice and Controversy

By CM Chaney · November 4, 2023

In brief…

Daylight saving time shifts clocks forward in summer so evenings have more daylight, but some countries like the U.S. debate ending it.
Most of North America and Europe follow daylight saving time, which ends Nov. 5 in the U.S. when clocks fall back one hour.
Daylight saving aimed to conserve energy and extend summer evening daylight, but benefits are debated while risks like more traffic deaths are noted.
The U.S. isn't ending daylight saving soon, though the proposed Sunshine Protection Act to make it permanent passed the Senate and was reintroduced this year.

While most of North America and Europe follow daylight saving time which ends Nov. 5 in the U.S., its origins and benefits are debated as some countries consider ending the practice altogether. Abhiram Juvvadi / Wikimedia

As the United States, Canada, Cuba and other countries prepare to move clocks back one hour on Nov. 5 with the end of daylight saving time, debate has re-emerged in America about ending the practice altogether.

Daylight saving time shifts clocks forward during summer so evenings have more daylight. Most of North America and Europe follow it, while countries near the equator generally do not.

Egypt announced in March it would restore daylight saving time for the first time in seven years to better align energy use. Japan considered adopting it for the 2020 Olympics but didn’t due to lack of support and technical challenges.

In the U.S., daylight saving time ends Nov. 5 at 2 a.m. local time when clocks will “fall back” one hour.

In the UK and Europe, it ended Oct. 29. Daylight saving in the U.S. always begins the second Sunday in March and finishes the first Sunday in November. This contrasts with the EU where it starts the last Sunday in March and finishes the last Sunday in October.

The modern concept emerged in the late 1800s when New Zealand’s George Hudson proposed it to extend summer evening daylight for collecting insects. The idea slowly spread until World War I when European countries sought fuel conservation strategies.

Germany pioneered daylight saving in 1916, with the U.S. following in 1918. After variations, the U.S. standardized it in 1966’s Uniform Time Act, permitting states to opt out but not stay on it permanently.

Contrary to myth, U.S. farmers largely opposed daylight saving for disrupting schedules. Fuel conservation benefits are also debated, with studies finding little to no energy savings. Critics point to other research linking daylight saving to spikes in traffic deaths, heart attacks, strokes and lost sleep when clocks spring forward.

Hawaii, Arizona (excluding Navajo Nation), American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands don’t do daylight saving. Nineteen states have passed laws to permanently use daylight saving if Congress allowed it.

The U.S. isn’t ending daylight saving soon, though the proposed Sunshine Protection Act to make it permanent passed the Senate unanimously. It stalled in the House over disagreements on keeping standard time or permanent daylight time. Senators reintroduced the bill this year, which would need passing in both chambers and presidential signing to become law.