Daylight Savings Time Starts This Sunday at 2 a.m.

Have you noticed that the skies have been staying light longer? This is a clear sign that daylight savings time is approaching. Remember to turn your clocks forward this Sunday, March 13th. We will lose an hour of sleep, which I am sure a lot of people are dreading, but the good part is that it won’t get dark as early in the evening.

Many people refer to daylight savings time as “summertime” because it reminds us that summer is quickly approaching. Daylight savings begins in March or April in the Northern hemisphere and ends in September or October. In the Southern hemisphere, it begins in September or October, ending in March or April.  Hawaii and Alaska are two American states that do not observe daylight savings.

Daylight savings is observed for multiple reasons, one being the daytime lasts longer. Some people believe that having daylight last longer can reduce potential accidents and injuries, particularly when driving. Longer days can also be beneficial for tourism industries because people will want to stay outside longer.

Daylight savings time was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, however George Hudson established modern daylight savings time in 1895. Throughout periods of history, the time in which daylight savings occurs has been altered, but the standard change in time is one hour. In 1905, English builder William Willet said the clock should move forward during the summer and this proposal was not put into action until 1916, during the time of World War I.

In some areas of the United States, political leaders continue to push the idea of getting rid of daylight saving time, yet on the other hand, representatives from Louisiana and Colorado want to keep daylight savings time throughout the entire year.

The duration of daylight savings time this year will be 34 weeks, starting this Sunday and ending November 6th.

Photo by Mike Licht