The start of Daylight Saving Time in 2025 is less than two weeks away.
Clocks will “spring forward” one hour overnight at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 9.
The sun will set at around 5:58 p.m. in New Jersey on Saturday, March 8. The following day, after the time shift and the end of standard time, sunset is roughly at 6:58 p.m.
The sun will, however, rise nearly an hour later at about 7:19 a.m. on Sunday, March 9, after coming up at approximately 6:21 a.m. the previous day.
Spring will officially arrive at 5:01 a.m on Thursday, March 20.
The amount of daylight we have each day in New Jersey continues to increase.
The sun is setting just past 5:45 p.m. in South Jersey during the final days of February and a few minutes earlier in North Jersey.
When does Daylight Saving Time end in 2025?
Daylight Saving Time, sometimes incorrectly referred to by the plural Daylight Savings Time, begins the second Sunday in March and ends the first Sunday in November. This year it concludes on Nov. 2, 2025 at 2 a.m.
Until 2007, Daylight Saving Time began at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in April and ended at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in October.
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.What states don’t observe Daylight Saving Time?
Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time. The time change is also not observed in U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All of Indiana didn’t begin observing Daylight Saving until 2006.
Daylight Saving Time starts in Sunday, March. 9Getty Images
Nineteen states have enacted legislation to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. Voters in California have voted to authorize year-round Daylight Saving Time. Those changes, however, require federal approval.
In March 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would end changing the clocks twice a year. The U.S. House of Representatives didn’t take a vote on it, though.
A handful of provinces in Canada — most of Saskatchewan and Yukon — have adopted permanent daylight saving as have parts of British Columbia and two communities in northwest Ontario.
About 70 countries observe Daylight Saving Time. Most of North America, Europe and parts of South America and New Zealand adhere to it, while China, Japan, India and most other countries do not.
It starts on different dates elsewhere. In Europe, for example, Daylight Saving Time starts the last Sunday in March and ends the final Sunday in October.
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.
A handful of provinces in Canada — most of Saskatchewan and Yukon — have adopted permanent daylight saving as have parts of British Columbia and two communities in northwest Ontario.
About 70 countries observe Daylight Saving Time. Most of North America, Europe and parts of South America and New Zealand adhere to it, while China, Japan, India and most other countries do not.
It starts on different dates elsewhere. In Europe, for example, Daylight Saving Time starts the last Sunday in March and ends the final Sunday in October.
FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2008, file photo, an Electric Time Company employee adjusts the color on a clock at the plant in Medfield, Mass., days before the switch to standard time. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)AP
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.
Stories by Jeff Goldman
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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.