Daylight Savings Time 2025: When should we turn back our clocks?
As autumn deepens across the United States, people are preparing to turn back the clocks to end daylight saving time.
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For many people in the United States, their circadian rhythms may be thrown out of whack on Sunday morning, November 2nd, as daylight saving time ends.
This year, clocks will be “set back” to standard time at 2am local time on Sunday 2 November, giving affected people an extra hour of sleep. Twice a year, the clocks move back and forth, creating more daylight in the morning or evening for millions of Americans. Daylight saving time ends on the weekend, so affected people can expect more morning sunlight.
Although most of the country will be affected by the time change, some regions and states, such as Hawaii, Arizona and some U.S. territories, will not be affected.
Here’s what you need to know before daylight saving time ends at night.
What is daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time occurs between March and November, when most Americans set their clocks one hour ahead.
People affected by the time difference gain an hour in November, as opposed to losing an hour in the spring, and get more daylight on winter mornings. When “spring comes” in March, you will see more sunlight in the evenings. And in the fall, we “retreat”.
According to the Library of Congress, daylight saving time was first introduced in the United States under the Standard Time Act in 1918 as a measure to save on fuel costs during World War I.
After being abolished at the federal level after World War I, the U.S. government brought back daylight saving time on an emergency basis in the mid-to-late 20th century. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 then established twice-yearly uniform time changes.
According to the Congressional Research Service, Congress amended the Uniform Time Act in 2005 to extend daylight saving time to the period currently in effect, which begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. Again, this move was intended to save energy.
When will daylight saving time end in 2025?
Daylight savings time ends at 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 2, 2025.
Daylight saving time this year is one day earlier than last year, making it the second earliest possible date for the time change. Daylight savings time falls on the first Saturday of November, so the earliest date is November 1st.
In 2026, daylight saving time begins again on Sunday, March 8th.
Where in the United States does daylight saving time not occur?
Hawaii and Arizona ((except for the Navajo Nation) do not comply. Daylight saving time remains in place and remains standard time all year round.
The same goes for American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
What is President Trump’s position on daylight saving time?
President Donald Trump has previously expressed support for permanently ending daylight saving time, calling it an “inconvenience.”
“Republicans will do everything in their power to abolish daylight saving time,” President Trump said on Truth Social in December 2024. “Daylight saving time is an inconvenience and very costly to our country.”
President Trump changed his tune a bit earlier this year, saying repealing the time changes was a coup d’etat and would be difficult to garner support for.
“This should be the easiest problem, but it’s a 50-50 problem. When something is a 50-50 problem, it’s hard to get excited about it. People will want to light it up later, but some people will want to light it up earlier because they don’t want to take their kids to school in the dark,” Trump said in March, according to Reuters. “Many people prefer one direction and many people prefer another direction. It’s very even.”
He said in April that the House and Senate should seek more sunshine at the end of the day, consistent with his position in 2019, according to Politico.
Contributed by: Fernando Cervantes Jr., Orlando Mayorkin, Bailey Allen, Kinsey Crowley/USA TODAY
