Although those living in Northern California might vehemently disagree, meteorological spring arrived last week and astronomical spring is on the way.
One sign of spring is the arrival of Daylight Saving Time, which starts this Sunday, March 10, at 2 a.m. local time in most parts of the United States and Canada.
Clocks should be set ahead by one hour and a later sunset will automatically follow.
In the European Union, Summer Time (called British Summer Time, or BST, in the United Kingdom and Sommerzeit in Austria and Germany) will start two weeks later on March 31, the last Sunday of the month. Daylight Saving Time in the United States currently ends on the first Sunday of November, while Summer Time in the European Union ends on the last Sunday of October.
The starting date offset of three weeks will leave the United States out of sync with a significant part of the world during those periods. Up until just a few years ago, when the United States modified the start and end times of Daylight Saving Time, this period of horological discrepancy lasted only one week.
Meanwhile, Daylight Saving Time in the United States will end on November 3, 2024, and resume on March 9, 2025. In the European Union, Summer Time will end October 27, 2024 and resume on March 30, 2025.
Daylight Saving Time is a system of managing the changing amounts of daylight that occur during the year, with a goal of maximizing daylight hours during the typical workday. It was first proposed in a somewhat jocular manner by Benjamin Franklin in a 1784 essay entitled “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light,” wherein he calculated how much the citizens of Paris would save on candles by starting the day earlier. No one is sure if the good Dr. Franklin actually believed people would actually do this. In fact, we on the editorial staff believe not.
However, Daylight Saving Time was not broadly adopted until the early twentieth century when Germany became the first country to introduce it, on April 30, 1916, a move quickly followed by several other European nations including France and the United Kingdom.
The United States first established Daylight Saving Time in 1918 as an energy-saving measure.
By setting clocks ahead by an hour, people typically have more daylight available during the workday. Since in the spring the sun rises earlier each day, an individual who typically wakes at 7 a.m. would have to rise at 6 a.m. to take advantage of the additional daylight. Instead, by moving the clock ahead by one hour, that person can continue to rise at 7 a.m. and enjoy more daylight in the early evening hours.
In broader terms, the reduced use of artificial lighting saves a lot of electricity. Additionally, since Americans are able to spend more time outside during the dog days of summer, there’s theoretically less energy being used to power the TV or lower the AC thermostat. However, as devices become more energy efficient, the savings have become debatable.
So, when do we revert to Standard Time?
Daylight Savings Time – as we noted earlier – ends on the first Sunday in November. In 2024, that would be November 7. In Europe, Winter Time begins on the last Sunday of October, which would be October 27.
Finally, don’t forget about your analog wristwatches and clocks as well as the digital variety such as alarm clocks and kitchen appliances – they will not adjust themselves – and you don’t even have to wear a mask while doing it.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
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