Daylight Saving Time 2026 Dates: What Is Daylight Savings? How To Set DST On Your Clock, Windows?

The start of daylight savings time for 2026 began during the second Sunday of March 2026. Daylight saving time is popularly practiced in the USA to ensure better use of longer daylight, which is usually the case during the summer season. Daylight saving time has been observed for 117 years now.

Daylight Saving Time 2026 Starting Date:

For 2026, the daylight savings time began on March 8, 2026, at 2 am local time. This has been practiced on the second Sunday of March every year.

As per US Astronomical Department, since 2007, Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. On the second Sunday in March, clocks are set ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. local standard time (which becomes 3:00 a.m. local Daylight Saving Time).

Daylight Savings Time 2026 End Date:

This will end on November 1, 2026. As per the department, on the first Sunday in November, clocks are set back one hour at 2:00 a.m. local Daylight Saving Time (which becomes 1:00 a.m. local standard time).

States, Countries That Follow Daylight Savings Time:

Of the total 50 states in the USA, majority of them follow daylight savings time. These include Maine, Texas, Florida, Alaska, and California among others. Also, Arizona's Navajo Nation follows the daylight savings time.

Apart from USA, many regions of Canada and Mexico which reside near the US, also practice daylight savings time. In the southern America, Chile and Paraguay follow DST. Also, countries in Africa and Asia that follow the DST are Israel, Cyprus and Egypt.

Which States & Countries Do Not Follow Daylight Savings Time?

Excluding Navajo Nation, all other areas and regions of Arizona do not follow DST. Hawai and the the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands also do not practice DST.

Meanwhile, majority of Africa and Asia also do not follow DST. In central America, no countries follow DST.

Many countries observe some form of "summer time." Most of the Northern Hemisphere countries which observe Daylight Saving Time are located in Europe and North America. A handful of nations in the southern hemisphere observe summer time, but their starting and ending periods are reversed since summer in the southern hemisphere occurs during the Northern Hemisphere's winter months. The dates when Daylight Saving Time changes are made are various and not determined by any international agreements, as per US department.

Because of the DST, many states and countries have different time-zones.

What Happens During Daylight Savings Time?

With a mnemonic word play referring to seasons, clocks "spring forward, fall back"-that is, in springtime the clocks are moved forward from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. and in fall they are moved back from 2:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Daylight saving time lasts for a total of 34 weeks (238 days) every year, about 65% of the entire year, as per Wikipedia.

How To Reset Your Clock To Daylight Savings Time?

Generally, to follow the DST time pattern, you can adjust your clock by one hour ahead of standard time in spring. You can rechange that back to one hour during winter.

How To Set Daylight Savings Time On Your Windows?

As per Microsoft, to set daylight saving time automatically, make sure the option Adjust for daylight saving time automatically is switched On. To set daylight saving time manually, make sure the option Adjust for daylight saving time automatically is switched Off, and then if needed, set the time manually.