IT is not long now till the clocks go forward in a practice that has been a part of civilisation in some form since ancient times, but in America, changing the clocks looks set to become a thing of the past.
How so?
The US Senate has passed a bill to make daylight savings time (DST) permanent and the legislation will now go to a vote in Congress that if passed, will mean that time will, so to speak, stand still in the States.
What would happen?
Americans would no longer need to put their clocks forward an hour in the spring and back again in the autumn, in a practice that dates to 1918 in the United States. If approved by the House of Representatives, the Sunshine Protection Act would then need to be signed into law by President Joe Biden, before taking effect from the autumn of 2023.
What time is it now across the Atlantic?
Most of the US put their clocks forward an hour at the weekend, and will push them back again in November, but not all US states observe DST, including Hawaii, most of Arizona and the US Virgin Islands - typically areas that receive a lot of sunshine and are longing for cooler temperatures and shade at the day’s end. These areas would still be able to remain on their own time.
The aim of the bill is…?
The bill - championed by Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida - is simply about “brightening” the days. Senator Sheldon tweeted: “Americans are sick of having to drive home from work in the dark and having their lives disrupted by springing forward and falling back. It would be better for everyone if we make daylight savings time permanent.” His colleague Senator Rubio told the Senate there was “strong science” behind keeping DST, saying it shows “the harm clock switching has” including an “increase in heart attacks, car accidents and pedestrian accidents in the week that follows the changes”.
The benefits?
Senator Rubio pointed to research suggesting DST can account for “reduced crime as it's light later in the day, a decrease in child obesity and a decrease in seasonal depression”, adding that “it gets really tough" in parts of the US to keep children outside playing sports and taking part in other outdoor activities when it gets dark earlier.
However?
Not all experts are on board. Horacio de la Iglesia, a professor of biology at the University of Washington, told the Seattle Times: “You may think that the extra hour of evening light we gain with DST is good for you, but research shows that the hour of morning light we miss out on under DST is unhealthy for your body and mind.” He added that when the clock is shifted an hour forward, we are asking our minds and bodies to wake an hour earlier than biology wishes. He added that humans prefer to be in tune with "solar time" and that standard time is closer to this pattern.
Long ago…?
In the UK, British Summer Time is designed to make the most of increased summer daylight in the northern hemisphere and the clock springs forward on the last Sunday in March at 1am, before falling back at 2am on the last Sunday in October. The concept of summer time was adopted in the UK in 1916, along with many nations involved in the First World War and at one point, it was doubled during the Second World War.
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