The first day of fall will arrive on Sunday morning, but we are still over six weeks away from the end of Daylight Saving Time, which will see the clocks turn back one hour. This change will take place at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 3, 2024, effectively granting an extra hour of sleep.
Since the summer solstice on June 20, the amount of daylight has gradually been decreasing daily. The last sunset after 7 p.m. occurred on Tuesday, and by the end of September, it will set around 6:40 p.m. This reduction in daylight will continue until the winter solstice on December 21, which occurs at 4:19 a.m. Following this date, daylight will begin to increase until the summer solstice on June 20, 2025.
After the return to standard time in early November, sunrises will occur approximately one hour earlier. In New Jersey, on November 2, the sun will rise at about 7:29 a.m. and set around 5:53 p.m. However, the following day, sunrise will be at 6:30 a.m., and sunset will be at 4:52 p.m. This means that while many individuals will be commuting home in the dark during November evenings, their morning drives will benefit from more daylight.
Daylight Saving Time is scheduled to start again on Sunday, March 10, 2024. The clocks officially “fall back” to 1 a.m. on the first Sunday of November. This cycle of Daylight Saving Time began on March 10, 2024, and will run until November 3, totaling 238 days. Since 2007, the period has been from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.
Next, clocks will move forward on March 9, 2025, which is 126 days after the fall back. Daylight Saving Time will conclude on November 2, 2025.
The origins of Daylight Saving Time go back over a century when English architect William Willett proposed the idea in 1907 through his pamphlet “The Waste of Daylight.” Benjamin Franklin also suggested more efficient use of daylight in a letter he wrote in 1784 while in Paris.
Daylight Saving Time became common in the U.S. following the Uniform Time Act of 1966, initially spanning the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, allowing states to opt out. In 1986, this period was adjusted to begin on the first Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October. The latest significant change occurred in 2006, when the period was updated to the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.
Some regions, including Hawaii and most of Arizona, do not observe Daylight Saving Time, nor do U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Indiana only started observing it in 2006.
Eighteen states have passed laws to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, with California voters endorsing year-round Daylight Saving Time, though federal approval is necessary for such changes to take effect.
In March 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which aimed to eliminate the biannual clock changes. However, the House of Representatives did not vote on the bill.
Daylight Saving Time continues to be a point of contention. Some provinces in Canada, including parts of British Columbia and Yukon, have adopted permanent Daylight Saving Time.
Globally, around 70 countries implement Daylight Saving Time, with most of North America, Europe, and portions of South America and New Zealand participating. Other major nations, including China, Japan, and India, do not follow this practice, and the starting dates for Daylight Saving Time vary by region. In Europe, for instance, it begins on the last Sunday in March and concludes on the last Sunday in October.