It's that time of the year again when clocks are adjusted by one hour forward in the U.S. and in the U.K. to maximize the daylight hours in time for spring.
For the U.S., Daylight Savings Time (DST) for the year will end on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 a.m., so clocks need to be moved back by one hour until March 12 next year when they would have to adjust it again by one hour at 2 a.m.
Citizens should take note of these dates and make sure to adjust their clocks, devices, and other timers since Daylight Savings Time does not automatically apply for all timepieces.
It can be recalled that the extended practice of Daylight Savings Time — which intends to maximize the use of daylight hours — was spawned from the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which according to the official NIST website, "extends the length of DST in the interest of reducing energy consumption. The new rules increased the duration of DST by about one month."
As such, U.S. states that participate in the practice engage in it for 238 days, which is subject to Congress revision if the practice proves to be ineffective in in saving energy. As it stands, Daylight Savings Time in the U.S. begins every 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November.
However, not all states join the practice. Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and almost all of Arizona do not pratice Daylight Savings Time.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom will also have to adjust their clocks back by one hour on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 2 a.m. Daylight Savings Time will resume on March 26, 2017.
In the U.K., the practice is known as British Summer Time and was introduced much earlier by William Willett way back in 1907. The practice was adopted by the Brits on May 1916.
