Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time (sometimes referred to as Daylight Savings, Summer Time or abbreviated as DST) is an idea that moving clocks forward by an hour in the Summer months when days are longer might help citizens take advantage of the "extra" hour of daylight. Over 70 countries use Daylight Saving Time, affecting over 1 Billion people on our planet!

Daylight Saving Time starts and stops at different dates around the world. This can make it difficult to know the best time for scheduling meetings to the other side of the world. Also, keep in mind that the Northern and Southern Hemispheres on our planet have opposite seasons, so Australia can be observing their Summer Time adjustments while North America is experiencing Winter.

Pros and Cons of Daylight Saving Time

There are many pros and cons of DST, which was not invented by Benjamin Franklin, including that it saves energy. With most of the western world falling back on the first Sunday in November, this time shift has led many countries and states to adjust or attempt to abolish daylight saving time.

Pros:

Longer evenings: allows for people to do more outdoor activities without artificial light which benefits the tourism industry
Energy savings: by having more natural daylight during early evening hours, less artificial light is needed in some areas
Safer: with more natural daylight, it is safer to drive and burglaries are reduced

Cons:

Not Safe: Causes a lack of sleep with can lead to health issues, car accidents and suicide
Doesn't save energy in our modern world as much of the energy expelled in this generation would happen regardless of daylight
Doesn't save money as cities and businesses spend more to alert the public of DST transitions and update software

Time Zone Transition from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time

A time zone is considered in Standard Time when they aren't observing DST.

Using the Eastern Time Zone as an example, which includes cities like New York and Washington DC, the year starts in Eastern Standard Time or EST.

In March, Daylight Saving Time begins and the time zone transitions to Eastern Daylight Time or EDT.

WorldTimeServer.com is your best resource for checking out the time before you call, as we do all the work of keeping up with each location's rules for observing Daylight Saving Time. Most popular on our site is the Current Times adjusted for Daylight Saving Time where you can see the time right now, anywhere in the world.

Also popular if you are planning ahead is our Meeting Planner, where you can compare the time throughout the day in two or more places, side by side. If you could use this data for your business, we also have a subscription service available to license our International Time Zone database for your own applications!