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The Times of India
The Times of India
World
TOI World Desk

Did the time change last night? Here's what happened on Daylight Saving Time 2026

Daylight saving time started Sunday at 2 am as the clocks were forwarded by an hour as most Americans lost an hour's sleep last night. According to the National Weather Service, before the clocks changed, sunrise in Boston was at 6:09 am and sunset at 5:41 pm. On Sunday, after the clocks changed, the sun rises at 7:08 am and sets at 6:42 pm. Since 2007, every year the daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday of March.

The daylight saving time 2026 will end at 2am on the first Sunday of November which is November 1 this year, after 238 days.

What is daylight saving time? What does it do?

Daylight saving time is the practice of moving the clocks forward an hour to get more daylight. The practice was first adopted in the US in 1918 to conserve fuel during World War I. It was used during World War II as well.

Hawaii and Arizona do not have daylight saving time. So do the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

This decades-old practice is a source of a major debate, as many experts believe that it does more harm than good, as it disrupts sleep, and creates confusion over frequent clock changes. President Donald Trump earlier said he would eliminate Daylight Saving Time, and it is inconvenient and very costly to the country. But then he said the opinions are divided on the issue. "It's something I can do, but a lot of people like it one way, a lot of people like it the other way," he said later.

Much of Canada and parts of Mexico near the US border participate in daylight saving. British Columbia’s Premier David Eby saidthe province is switching to permanent daylight time. BC’s new time zone will be called “Pacific Time.” While most of Africa and Asia do not participate, Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus and Egypt do. In South America, only Chile and Paraguay currently observe daylight saving time, and in Central America, no countries do.

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