The twice-a-year time change for most U.S. states is coming up in just a few weeks.
WASHINGTON — Daylight saving time is coming to an end for 2025 on Nov. 2, the first Sunday in November.
On November 2, at 2 a.m., clocks will be set back by one hour, providing most people with an extra hour of sleep. This adjustment results in the sun rising earlier and sunset occurring before 7 p.m. The clocks won’t move forward again until March 2026.
There have been numerous efforts in Congress to make daylight saving time a year-round practice, eliminating the need for changing clocks twice annually. However, these proposals often fail to become law.
With little to no progress made on that legislation, Americans will continue to “fall back” in 2025 and “spring forward” next year.
When do clocks change in 2025?
Daylight saving time in 2025 ends on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 2 a.m.
Why was daylight saving time created?
The concept of adjusting clocks to save energy by utilizing more daylight began during World War I. Germany introduced this practice to conserve power by extending daylight hours.
Daylight saving time was first introduced to America through the Standard Time Act of 1918. Originally a temporary measure, it was known as “war time” and intended to reduce energy consumption during World War I. This act also established the five time zones that are still used today.
The Department of Transportation was established in 1966, assuming authority over time zones and daylight saving time. To address the confusion caused by varying time zones, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 aimed to create a consistent national standard for daylight saving time from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.
Since then, there have been minimal changes. The most significant change occurred in 2005 when former President George Bush extended daylight saving time by a few weeks. It is now observed from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.
Despite the national observance, Arizona and Hawaii don’t observe daylight saving time. Under federal law, states are allowed to opt out of daylight saving time and remain on standard time, but are not allowed to remain on daylight time.
The U.S. has previously implemented daylight saving time year-round twice, once in World War II for fuel conservation and once in 1974 as “trial run” during an energy crisis.
The Senate in 2022 unanimously approved a measure that would make daylight saving time permanent across the United States, but it did not advance.
President Trump has made several digs at the semiannual changing of clocks, but backed off his call for the Republican Party to eliminate daylight saving time – calling it a “50-50 issue.”
