Daylight Saving Time — when our clocks “spring forward” an hour to provide additional light in the evening — began Sunday and will continue until well into the fall.
Daylight Saving Time won’t end for more than seven-and-a-half months — at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024 when the clock will “fall back” one hour and in theory we get one extra hour of sleep and return to Standard Time.
In the meantime, the amount of daylight will continue to incrementally increase each day until the summer solstice on June 20. Then the amount of daylight starts to slowly decreases each day until winter starts on Dec. 21 and the cycle begins again.
The sun is now setting each day a little after 7 p.m. in New Jersey, with sunrise a few minutes after 7 a.m. The next time that sun won’t set later than 7 p.m. is Sept. 19, three days before the start of autumn.
Days have gotten longer since winter began on Dec. 21, 2023. Spring starts on March 19.
Clocks officially “fall back” at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November to 1 a.m. That falls on Nov. 3 this year.
When did Daylight Saving Time start and when will it end in 2024?
Daylight Saving Time started on Sunday, March 10, 2024 and will end on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024 — a run of 238 days. It has lasted from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November since 2007.
When does Daylight Saving Time start and end in 2025?
We next turn the clocks ahead on March 9, 2025 — 126 days after turning them back. Daylight Saving Time in 2025 will end on Nov. 2, 2025.
Daylight Saving Time began on Sunday, March 10, 2024 and ends on Nov. 3, 2024.Canva for NJ.com
Did Benjamin Franklin invent Daylight Saving Time?
Benjamin Franklin is credited with coming up with the notion of making better use of the day’s light. While visiting Paris in 1784, Franklin came to believe that sunlight was being wasted during the day. In a joking letter to the editors of a Paris newspaper, Franklin proposed a tax on all Parisians whose windows were closed after sunrise.
He believed that this would “encourage the economy of using sunshine instead of candles,” according to Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time.
What is the origin of modern Daylight Saving Time?
During World War I, the German Empire implemented an idea that most resembles the Daylight Saving Time that we observe today.
Believing that it would conserve fuel during the war, the German Empire in 1916 became the first to switch its clocks to save daylight.
When did the U.S. adopt Daylight Saving Time?
In 1918, the U.S. enacted the first Daylight Saving Time law as a way to conserve fuel. It was reintroduced during World War II.
The U.S. put nationwide, year-round daylight saving into effect during World War II starting on Feb. 9, 1942, thinking it would help conserve energy, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Nicknamed War Time, it remained in effect until September 1945 when Japan surrendered.
In 1973, President Nixon signed into law the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act, which made DST permanent in the U.S. This helped reduce confusion throughout the country with some regions of the U.S. participating in the practice and some regions opting out. The law was redacted less than a year later, though.
Wasn’t Daylight Saving Time created for farmers?
A common misconception is that Daylight Saving Time was implemented as a way to improve farming practices. However, this is a myth.
During the early adoption of the practice in the U.S., farmers were among the biggest opponents of Daylight Saving Time, believing that it would disrupt their farming practices.
Does Daylight Saving Time actually conserve energy?
Not really, even though that was cited in the 2005 Energy Policy Act that extended Daylight Saving Time by a month.
A study three years later by the U.S. Department of Energy determined that the extended daylight throughout the year of 2005 saved a mere .5% in electricity use per day and only about .3% over the entire year.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Jeff Goldman may be reached at [email protected].
Gregory Daniels is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, he explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture. Gregory enjoys staying ahead of the curve and sharing emerging trends with his readers.
)
