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On Sunday the clocks ‘fall back’ one hour

Vaseline October 30, 2024

Get ready to “backfire” on California. The day when we can throw the covers over our heads and enjoy that extra hour of sweet sleep is just around the corner.

Time to say goodbye to Daylight Savings Time and replace dining outside under the fading golden twilight with dining indoors with all the lights on.

In 2024, the end of daylight saving time and the start of standard time will be on Sunday, November 3 at 2 a.m.

Earlier this year, daylight saving time started on Sunday, March 10 at 2 a.m.

We gain an hour in November (instead of losing an hour in spring) to provide more daylight in winter mornings.

How did daylight saving time start?

Initially known as “wartime,” according to the U.S. Department of Defense, daylight saving time was first introduced in the United States in 1918 under the Standard Time Act as a measure to save on fuel costs during World War I by adding extra time . hours of sunlight per day, according to the Library of Congress.

According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, the US abandoned daylight saving time at the federal level after the end of World War I because it saw no financial need.

States that wanted to continue observing daylight saving time locally had the option to do so.

How was the length of daylight saving time set?

In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, standardizing the length of daylight saving time.

The Department of Transportation says daylight saving time saves energy, prevents traffic accidents and reduces crime.

The DOT oversees time zones and uniform observance of daylight saving time as the railroad industry established time standards for the first time.

Has the end of daylight saving time changed?

No, you’re not remembering incorrectly: the end of daylight saving time has been pushed back.

According to the Congressional Research Service, daylight saving time originally started on the last Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October.

In 2005, Congress amended the Uniform Time Act to extend daylight saving time to the period in effect today.

According to the Congressional Research Service, daylight saving time now begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

This step was for energy saving purposes.

A Department of Energy study following the implementation of the amendment found that the additional four weeks of daylight saving time saved approximately 0.5% of total electricity per day in the US, amounting to an energy savings of 1.3 billion kilowatt hours per year.

Will California ever get rid of daylight saving time?

There is an effort among the state legislature to abolish daylight saving time and keep standard time year-round.

Assembly Bill 1776: Year-round standard time was introduced earlier this year in January by Assemblymember Tri Ta of Orange County.

“Changing the clock twice a year is not only frustrating, but it is dangerous for drivers and contributes to our state’s mental and physical health crises every year. When voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 7 in 2018, they did not expect the Legislature to block the will of voters by refusing to pass this important measure,” Assemblyman Ta said in a statement at the time.

In 2018, Proposition 7 passed in California with nearly 60% of the vote, calling on the legislature to end the biennial time changes. According to several studies, time changes are linked to an increase in car accidents, seasonal depression and other serious health problems, the statement continued.

The bill would require the state and all political subdivisions of the state to observe standard time year-round.

If passed, the bill would bring California into line with other states and U.S. territories that do not observe daylight saving time: Arizona (excluding the Navajo Nation), Hawaii and the territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.