Daylight Saving Time – often called “Daylight Savings” or “summer time” – is observed in the summer when there are more hours of sunlight available. There are many reasons why this time change has been adopted which we will discuss later.

When Daylight Saving is not active, during the winter in most places, this is considered standard time.

The moment when a time zone changes from standard time to DST – or vice versa - depends on the region or country where it is being activated. This can be confusing to keep track of, especially since some areas don’t even observe it.

For instance, in the U.S. the Daylight Saving change happens on the second Sunday of March (this year it is March 13), so at 2:00 AM on that day the clocks will be moved forward an hour to 3:00 AM. It ends on the first Sunday in November (which is Nov 6 this year) at 2:00 AM, so at that time, the clocks will be turned back one hour to 1:00 AM.

In some territories, when Daylight Saving is active they switch to a completely different time zone other than the “standard” zone instead of altering the clocks. The UK is a great example of this as they make the switch from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to British Summer Time (BST) during Daylight Saving.

Why Do We Use Daylight Saving?

U.S. inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin was one of the first to propose altering the clocks to preserve hours of sunlight in 1784. However, many didn’t take the concept seriously until 1895 when New Zealand entomologist George Vernon Hudson came up with a similar proposal for a two-hour time change. It was his proposal that was eventually given the name Daylight Saving.

The time change was originally adopted so that certain areas of the world were able to take advantage of longer days with more available sunlight. This allowed for longer workdays, which at the time was beneficial for everyone.

But times change, and that may no longer be the case with the modern world. These days, there are some who feel that Daylight Saving should still be used, and others that believe it is now obsolete.

It’s true that the time change is not as much of a necessity, thanks to modern technological advancements and changes in the way we live. Sunlight is not needed all day, because we have the resources to work in the dark.

Some claim that Daylight Saving is helpful for energy conservation because people use less electricity during the day. Those same parties claim there are fewer road accidents and injuries while it’s active. They are obviously supportive of the time change and want it to remain in effect.

However, there are also studies that argue the opposite, one of which purports that DST can negatively affect one's health due to a decrease in total sleep and disruption of our body clocks -- resulting in more heart attacks.

When Does Daylight Saving Begin in 2016?

Again, the start and end schedule for Daylight Saving is different depending on what country and part of the world you are located.

Some of the upcoming DST start dates for 2016 are:

 

United States: All Time Zones that use DST

DST Begins: Sunday, March 13 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Austria

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

The Bahamas: Nassau

DST Begins: Sunday, March 13 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Belgium

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Canada: Montreal

DST Begins: Sunday, March 13 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Croatia

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Cuba

DST Begins: Sunday, March 13 at 1:00am.

Move your clock forward to 2:00am.

 

Denmark

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Finland

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 3:00am.

Move your clock forward to 4:00am.

 

France

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Germany

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Greece

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 3:00am.

Move your clock forward to 4:00am.

 

Hungary

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Iran

DST Begins: Sunday, March 21 at 12:00am.

Move your clock forward to 1:00am.

 

Israel

DST Begins: Sunday, April 1 at 12:00am.

Move your clock forward to 1:00am.

 

Italy

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Jordan

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 3:00am.

Move your clock forward to 4:00am.

 

Netherlands

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Norway

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Poland

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Syria

DST Begins: Sunday, March 25 at 12:00am.

Move your clock forward to 1:00am.

 

Sweden

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

Turkey

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 3:00am.

Move your clock forward to 4:00am.

 

Ukraine: All Time Zones that use DST

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 3:00am.

Move your clock forward to 4:00am.

 

United Kingdom: All Time Zones that use DST

DST Begins: Sunday, March 27 at 2:00am.

Move your clock forward to 3:00am.

 

To find a DST schedule not listed, use our location Search found in the header.

Sign up for DST reminders and never miss a DST time change again by clicking the DST Reminder link found on the current time page for a specific location.

 

Related Articles:

Tips for dealing with daylight saving time

What is DST?