What is Daylight Saving Time, which the US Senate has voted to scrap?

19 Mar,22 11:22 am
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Daylight Saving Time: The United States Senate unanimously passed a law (Sunshine Protection Act) making daylight saving time (DST) permanent.

Key Details:

  • This law that was passed on 15 March 2022 will scrap the practice of changing clocks forward and back coinciding with the arrival and departure of winter.
  • If the legislation, Sunshine Protection Act, passes in the House of Representatives as well and is signed into law by President Joe Biden, it will come into effect in November 2023.
  • Once the law is passed, the practice of turning clocks back by an hour to standard time in November will stop and DST which now starts in March will be in effect throughout the year.

The consequence of this Act:

  • With clocks in the US going back an hour, the time difference between New York and India will increase nine and a half hours to ten and a half hours
  • In the Southern Hemisphere, where countries have “sprung forward”, the time difference with India has reduced.

What is DST?

  • Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the practice of resetting clocks ahead by an hour in spring, and behind by an hour in autumn (or fall).
  • During these months, countries that follow this system get an extra hour of daylight in the evening.
  • Because the spring to fall cycle is opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, DST lasts from March to October/November in Europe and the US, and from September/October to April in New Zealand and Australia.
  • By law, the 28 member states of the EU switch together — moving forward on the last Sunday of March and falling back on the last Sunday in October.
  • In the US, clocks go back on the first Sunday of November.

Imp Info: During World War I, Germany and Austria introduced DST in April 1916 to reduce the usage of artificial illumination. Many countries are gradually adopting it.

How many countries use DST?

  • DST is currently followed by some 70 countries twice a year.
  • Except for two states in the United States, all other states observe Daylight Saving Time (DST) and change their clocks twice a year.
  • The DST is observed in all European Union (EU) countries, as well as several additional European countries.
  • Other countries outside Europe like Paraguay, Cuba, the Levant, New Zealand, parts of Australia, Iran, Mexico, Argentina and Haiti also follow the DST.

Note: India does not follow DST; since countries near the Equator do not experience high variations in daytime hours between seasons.

Purpose of DST:

  • The key argument is that DST is meant to save energy.
  • The rationale behind setting clocks ahead of standard time, usually by one hour in the spring, is to ensure that the clocks show a later sunrise and later sunset, resulting in a longer evening daytime.
  • Individuals will finish their daily work routines an hour earlier, and the extra hour of daylight will (or should) result in lower energy use.
  • It helps to achieve sustainable development goals by conserving electricity and other resources.
  • It saves energy, encourages outdoor leisure activity in the evening (during the summer), and is thus beneficial for physical and psychological health, reduces traffic accidents, reduces crime, or is good for business.

Concern:

  • However, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can result in disrupted travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, and sleep patterns.
  • There can be health problems as a result of disruption of the circadian rhythm (body clock).

 


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