Daylight Saving Time 2025: Get ready to 'spring forward' this weekend

Get ready to "spring forward."

Most Americans will set their clocks forward by one hour on Sunday, March 9. While we’ll lose some sleep, we’ll gain more sunlight in the evenings as the days warm into summer.

There has been much debate over the practice, but around 70 countries — approximately 40% of those worldwide — currently use what Americans call daylight saving time.

Is it daylight saving time or daylight savings time?

What we know:

It's important to note that the correct term is daylight saving time, not daylight savings time, although it is commonly misspelled.

When does daylight saving time start in 2025?

Daylight saving time for 2025 begins on Sunday, March 9. The change officially occurs at 2 a.m., when we set our clocks forward by one hour.

If you use your smartphone as an alarm, there is no need to do anything, as the clocks will automatically adjust. But if you use an analog or digital clock not connected to Wi-Fi, you will need to set the clock one hour ahead before you go to bed. 

The New York metro area will see about 80 more minutes of total daylight gained in March, and with the daylight savings time adjustment, sunsets will be about 100 minutes later between the start and end of the month. 

When does daylight saving time end in 2025?

Daylight saving time for 2025 officially ends on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.

How did daylight saving time get started?

The backstory:

In the 1890s, New Zealand astronomer and entomologist George Vernon Hudson proposed a time shift in the spring and fall to increase daylight. In the early 1900s, British home builder William Willett, concerned that people weren't up enjoying the morning sunlight, made a similar push. However, neither proposal gained enough traction to be implemented, according to the Associated Press.

Germany adopted daylight saving time during World War I to conserve energy. Other countries, including the United States, soon followed suit. During World War II, the U.S. implemented "war time," making daylight saving time year-round nationwide.

Who uses daylight saving time?

Big picture view:

In 1966, the U.S. Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which allows states to either implement daylight saving time or opt out, while requiring statewide consistency. The act also mandates the start and end dates for daylight saving time across the country.

In the United States, every state except Hawaii and Arizona observes daylight saving time. Globally, Europe, much of Canada, and parts of Australia also implement it, while Russia and Asia do not.

Could we permanently use year-round daylight saving time?

During the 1970s energy crisis, the U.S. implemented year-round daylight saving time, but it was unpopular. With the sun not rising until around 9 a.m. or later in some areas during winter, people found themselves waking up, commuting, and sending their children to school in the dark, said David Prerau, author of "Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time," to the Associated Press.

Prerau noted that using standard time year-round would mean losing an extra hour of daylight in the evenings for eight months in the United States.

What did Trump say about Daylight Saving Time? 

What they're saying:

"So this should be the easiest one of all," Trump said at the White House Thursday when asked about the time change. "But it's a 50/50 issue. And if something is a 50/50 issue, it's hard to get excited about it. I assume people would like to have more light later, but some people want to have more light earlier because they don't want to take their kids to school in the dark … It’s something I can do … but a lot of people like it one way, a lot of people like it the other way. It's very even. And usually I find where that's the case, what else do we have to do?"

Dig deeper:

Trump doesn’t have the authority as president to end time change. That has to be done by either Congress or the Secretary of Transportation. 

TravelDonald J. Trump