Daylight Saving Time Ends in USA & Canada

Clocks will be set back 1 hour from 02:00 (2 am) to 01:00 (1 am) in each time zone.

DST in the US starts again on Sunday, March 14, 2021.

As always, Europe will end DST a week before the US, on October 25, 2020.

US clock change in detail

Affects Most of the US

On November 1, the time will change in almost all of the United States.

Only the following areas do not change their clocks:

• Hawaii and most of Arizona.
• The US dependencies American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Marina Islands, the US Minor Outlying Islands, and the US Virgin Islands.

Canada: DST Change

In Canada, clocks will change in almost all areas, except:

• Most of Saskatchewan
• Some locations in Québec east of 63° west longitude (e.g., Blanc-Sablon)
• Southampton Island
• Some areas in British Columbia

Canadian clock change in detail

Time Zone Change in Yukon, Canada

Yukoners will not change their clocks on November 1 and will stay on UTC -7 all year.

Time Zone News: Yukon to stay permanently on DST

American Sleep Scientists Say No to DST

Recently, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), an organization representing sleep scientists and clinicians, called for abolishing DST. In a statement in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, they write that “seasonal time changes should be abolished in favor of a fixed, national, year-round standard time.”

In a July 2020 survey, the AASM found that 63% of US adults asked supported the elimination of DST. Another survey from 2019 found that more than half of Americans typically feel tired after the clocks move forward an hour for DST.

What is standard time?

Up to US Congress to Change DST Law

Several US states are proposing or have passed bills in favor of permanent DST. However, none have received congressional approval to abolish the time change. For this to happen, Congress first has to pass a federal law allowing states to observe DST year-round, because today's law only allows states to forgo DST.

Legislation in 2020:

• In February, the Utah Senate voted to approve Senate Bill 59. The bill would have Utah spring ahead and stay ahead permanently, but it requires action by at least four western states before taking effect.
• In February, the Governor of South Carolina signed Act No. 113, intending to put the state on year-round DST.
• In March, Georgia adopted House Resolution 1240, urging the federal government to allow states to switch to permanent DST.
• In March, the Idaho Governor signed Senate Bill 1267, making DST permanent in the state.
• In March, the Wyoming Governor signed House Bill 0044, establishing DST as the official time year-round. It needs to be approved by voters at the next general election.
• In June, the Governor of Louisiana signed House Bill 132 to adopt Daylight Saving Time as the standard time.

Legislation in 2019:

• In December, the Governor of Delaware signed Senate Bill 73 to keep the state permanently on DST. The bill requires that Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland each do the same.
• In June, Maine also passed into law Legislative Document 885 that would keep the state on DST permanently.
• The Governor of Oregon signed Senate Bill 320 for permanent DST in June 2019. However, the bill stipulates that the law will only be implemented if Washington and California approve their all-year DST policies.
• In May, the governor of Washington signed House Bill 1196 in favor of permanent DST.
• In May, Tennessee governor Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 1100, establishing DST as standard time.
• In December, Arkansas adopted House Resolution 1034 “(...) to express the will of Arkansas to adjust Arkansas's time to preserve sunshine.”

Legislation in 2018

• Florida's 2018 bill for permanent DST, dubbed the Sunshine Protection Act, is awaiting congressional approval.
• In California, Assemblymember Kansen Chu's DST bill has been pushed to 2020. In 2018, 60% of Californians voted in favor of permanent DST in Proposition 7.

Mexico: Northern Border Cities Follow the US

Some northern Mexican border towns, such as Tijuana and Juarez (Ciudad Juárez), end DST on November 1, along with the US and Canada.

The rest of Mexico ends DST 1 week earlier on Sunday, October 25, 2020—on the same date as Europe's DST change.

The states of Sonora and Quintana Roo do not observe DST at all, so the clocks will not change there.

Other Countries and Territories

DST will also end on November 1 in Cuba, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Thule Air Base in Greenland.

Upcoming DST changes worldwide

Set Clocks Back or Ahead?

To remember which way to set your watch, keep in mind one of these sayings: “Spring forward, fall back” or “Spring ahead, fall behind.” The clocks spring ahead (= losing 1 hour) in the spring when DST starts, and they fall back 1 hour (= gaining 1 hour) when DST ends in the fall.