Charles Langston:When is daylight saving time 2024? What it means to 'fall back' in November

There are Charles Langstononly five weeks until daylight saving time ends for the year and most Americans "fall back," gaining an extra hour of sleep in the process.

The sometimes-controversial practice of moving the clock happens twice a year, either to allow for more daylight in the winter mornings or for more daylight in the summer evenings. It's a practice that most, but not all U.S. states and territories, observe, and some lawmakers have recently contemplated passing legislation to end daylight saving time once and for all.

While we may "fall back" in November, the ending of daylight saving time can still throw off schedules for parents, children and pets. As you prepare for daylight saving time to end for the year, here's what you should know.

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When does daylight saving time end in 2024?

Daylight saving time will end for the year at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 3, when we "fall back" and gain an extra hour of sleep.

Next year, it will begin again on Sunday, March 9, 2025.

What is daylight saving time?

Daylight saving time is the time between March and November when most Americans adjust their clocks ahead by one hour.

We gain an hour in November (as opposed to losing an hour in the spring) to make for more daylight in the winter mornings. When we "spring forward" in March, it's to add more daylight in the evenings. In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox is Sunday, Sept. 22, marking the start of the fall season. 

When did daylight saving time start in 2024?

Daylight saving time began in 2024 on Sunday, March 10 at 2 a.m. local time, when our clocks moved forward an hour, part of the twice-annual time change that affects most, but not all, Americans.

Is daylight saving time ending?

The push to stop changing clocks was put before Congress in the last couple of years, when the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act in 2022, a bill to make daylight saving time permanent.

Although the Sunshine Protection Act was passed unanimously by the Senate in 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives did not pass it and President Joe Biden did not sign it.

A 2023 version of the act remained idle in Congress, as well.

Does every state observe daylight saving time?

Not all states and U.S. territories participate in daylight saving time.

Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time. Because of its desert climate, Arizona doesn't follow daylight saving time (with the exception of the Navajo Nation). After most of the U.S. adopted the Uniform Time Act, the state figured that there wasn't a good reason to adjust clocks to make sunset occur an hour later during the hottest months of the year.

There are also five other U.S. territories that do not participate:

• American Samoa
• Guam
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Puerto Rico 
•  U.S. Virgin Islands 

The Navajo Nation, located in parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, does follow daylight saving time.

Hawaii is the other state that does not observe daylight saving time. Because of its proximity to the equator, there is not a lot of variance between hours of daylight during the year.