Here’s a look at daylight saving time, a system to reduce electricity usage by extending daylight hours.
Facts
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021: Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Set clocks back one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night.
Sunday, March 14, 2021: Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Set clocks ahead one hour before go to sleep on Saturday night.
It is “daylight saving time” (singular), not “daylight savings time” (plural).
Beginning in 2007, daylight saving time starts in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
California law?
In 2018, California voters approved a ballot measure to make daylight saving time permanent. But residents here still change their clocks twice a year. Why? Here’s a recap of what Proposition 7 says, and what comes next.
READ MORE – Daylight saving time: Myths and truths
Timeline
1784: The idea of daylight saving is first conceived by Benjamin Franklin.
1914-1918: Britain goes on daylight saving time during World War I.
March 19, 1918: The Standard Time Act establishes time zones and daylight saving. Daylight saving is repealed in 1919, but continues to be recognized in certain areas of the United States.
1945-1966: There is no federal law regarding daylight saving time.
1966: The Uniform Time Act of 1966 establishes the system of uniform daylight saving time throughout the United States. The dates are the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. States can exempt themselves from participation.
1974-1975: Congress extends daylight saving time in order to save energy during the energy crisis.
1986-2006: Daylight saving time begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the last Sunday in October.
August 8, 2005: President George W. Bush signs the Energy Policy Act of 2005 into law. Part of the act will extend daylight saving time starting in 2007, from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.
2007: Under new laws, all of Indiana now observes daylight saving time, where only certain areas of the state did before.
Exceptions in the United States
In the United States, Hawaii and most of Arizona do not follow daylight saving time.
The US territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and American Samoa also do not observe daylight saving time.
What countries follow daylight saving time?
About 70 countries around the world observe DLS.
Many countries near the equator do not adjust their clocks.
Neither China nor Japan currently observe daylight saving time.
Some countries refer to “daylight saving time” as “summer time.”
Bay Area News Group staff writer John Woolfolk contributed to this story.