Summer is officially over in the United States as the season of fall takes over. Nights seem to be longer and the chilly air seems to be felt more frequently.
That only means that it's almost time for the clocks to be set back to normal time, when Daylight Savings Time ends.
The advanced hour will soon fall back when DST ends on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 a.m.
The biannual practice of moving time forward and backward was implemented by the Congress to support the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
However, not all the states in the United States are practicing DST; Hawaii and most areas in Arizona don't observe the clock-changing practice.
As for those living in Europe, they are yet to change their clocks earlier than U.S. residents. DST started in Europe on March 29 and will set the time an hour backward at 3 a.m. on Oct. 25, the last Sunday of this month.
To easily distinguish DST, one should always remember the phrase "Fall back, spring forward."
Meanwhile, in the far southern part of the globe, Australia in particular, DST will start this weekend — specifically on the first Sunday of October at 2 a.m., when clocks will jump an hour forward.
Since the fall season has already started in the United States, it only means that Australia is now facing spring, hence the forward move in time.
A lot of people are confused about DST and wonder why there is a need for the practice. According to Time and Date, DST is observed in several countries to make the most out of the natural daylight that tends to extend in the evening hours during summer.
Studies have also shown that observing DST will lead to fewer incidences of road mishaps. On the contrary, there were also studies that claim DST can have negative impact on health.
Daylight Savings Time was first suggested by Benjamin Franklin in 1784; a modern practice was introduced in 1895 by George Vernon Hudson; and the British Summer Time was suggested in 1908 by William Willett.
