US: Eight things to know about daylight saving time that happened today
Clocks across the United States jumped ahead by one hour early Sunday morning as daylight saving time began for 2025.
Tribune Online reports that the official time change occurred at 2 a.m. today, March 9, 2025, when clocks moved forward to 3 a.m., marking the start of longer evenings and shorter mornings.
In this article, Tribune Online takes a look at eight key things to know about the time change.
1. When the Time Changed This Year
The time change took place at 2 a.m. today Sunday, March 9, 2025, moving ahead to 3 a.m.
2. What Happens During the Time Change
Clocks move forward by one hour in spring, leading to later sunrises and sunsets. While digital devices update automatically, manual clocks must be reset. The shift also causes a loss of one hour of sleep and has been linked to short-term health risks such as strokes, heart attacks, and traffic accidents.
3. When Daylight Saving Time Ends
Daylight saving time ends this year on Sunday, Nov. 2, when clocks will “fall back” one hour. With that change, the sun will set an hour earlier in the evening and rise an hour earlier in the morning.
4. Countries That Observe Daylight Saving Time
Outside the U.S., most countries in Europe observe daylight saving time, including France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. It is also used in parts of Canada and Australia, while Egypt is the only African country that observes it.
5. U.S. Places That Don’t Observe It
Hawaii, most of Arizona, and U.S. territories such as American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not observe daylight saving time.
6. The Origins of Daylight Saving Time
Although Benjamin Franklin is often linked to the idea, it was New Zealand entomologist George Hudson who proposed a two-hour clock shift in 1895. British builder William Willet also promoted the idea in 1907 to make better use of daylight.
7. How Daylight Saving Time Started Globally
In 1916, during World War I, Germany became the first country to practice daylight saving time to conserve fuel, according to the Congressional Research Service. Other European countries soon followed, and the U.S. started practicing daylight saving time in 1918 to add additional daylight hours and help conserve energy.
8. The Current U.S. Schedule for Daylight Saving Time
Today’s practice of starting daylight saving time on the second Sunday in March each year and ending it on the first Sunday in November was enacted under former President George W. Bush.
