What Is Daylight Saving Time?
2023-11-03
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1As November begins, many countries in North America and Europe are turning the clock back as daylight saving time ends.
2Daylight saving time is the practice of moving clocks forward by one hour during summer months so daylight lasts longer into the evening.
3In Europe, the practice is called European Summer Time.
4The clock usually moves forward in March and turns back at the end of October.
5Most European countries follow the practice.
6Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Iceland and a few others are among the exceptions.
7Across the Atlantic Ocean, Canada, Mexico, Cuba and the United States start daylight saving time in March also.
8The clock will be set back an hour on November 5 this year.
9Countries closer to the equator usually do not follow daylight saving time because the period of daylight changes little.
10Those that do not change the times include countries in Central America, Asia and Africa.
11The idea of changing the clocks with the seasons started with George Hudson, a New Zealand scientist who studied insects.
12In 1895, Hudson proposed a time change to extend summer daylight hours.
13The extra time would have helped him with collecting insects after work.
14The idea did not appeal to anyone until the time of World War I when European countries sought to save energy.
15Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time, in 1916, and the U.S. followed in 1918.
16Some people believe that the U.S. established daylight saving time to help farmers.
17But farmers generally do not like the practice.
18The publication Modern Farmer said American farmers were against the practice but that Congress approved it anyway.
19Opponents of daylight saving time have pointed to studies that found an increase in traffic accidents, health issues, and lack of sleep in the days after clocks are moved forward every March.
20As for saving energy, the Congressional Research Service said studies have found little, if any, energy savings from the time change.
21Daylight saving time has been a fluid issue from the start.
22Some countries have adopted and rejected it several times.
23In South America, Uruguay ended the practice in 2015.
24Chile replaced it with "wintertime" from May to August in 2016.
25Egypt announced in March it would return to daylight saving time after seven years to save energy.
26Japan briefly considered adopting the practice for the 2020 Olympics but rejected it due to a lack of popular support.
27In the U.S. there have been several efforts to make daylight saving time permanent.
28Last year, a bill called the "Sunshine Protection Act" passed the Senate but got stuck in the House of Representatives.
29Lawmakers could not agree on whether to keep standard time or permanent daylight saving time.
30The bill was proposed again this year.
31I'm Caty Weaver.
1As November begins, many countries in North America and Europe are turning the clock back as daylight saving time ends. 2Daylight saving time is the practice of moving clocks forward by one hour during summer months so daylight lasts longer into the evening. 3In Europe, the practice is called European Summer Time. The clock usually moves forward in March and turns back at the end of October. Most European countries follow the practice. Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Iceland and a few others are among the exceptions. 4Across the Atlantic Ocean, Canada, Mexico, Cuba and the United States start daylight saving time in March also. The clock will be set back an hour on November 5 this year. 5Countries closer to the equator usually do not follow daylight saving time because the period of daylight changes little. Those that do not change the times include countries in Central America, Asia and Africa. 6How did it start? 7The idea of changing the clocks with the seasons started with George Hudson, a New Zealand scientist who studied insects. In 1895, Hudson proposed a time change to extend summer daylight hours. The extra time would have helped him with collecting insects after work. 8The idea did not appeal to anyone until the time of World War I when European countries sought to save energy. Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time, in 1916, and the U.S. followed in 1918. 9Some people believe that the U.S. established daylight saving time to help farmers. But farmers generally do not like the practice. The publication Modern Farmer said American farmers were against the practice but that Congress approved it anyway. 10Opponents of daylight saving time have pointed to studies that found an increase in traffic accidents, health issues, and lack of sleep in the days after clocks are moved forward every March. 11As for saving energy, the Congressional Research Service said studies have found little, if any, energy savings from the time change. 12Arguments to end the practice 13Daylight saving time has been a fluid issue from the start. Some countries have adopted and rejected it several times. In South America, Uruguay ended the practice in 2015. Chile replaced it with "wintertime" from May to August in 2016. 14Egypt announced in March it would return to daylight saving time after seven years to save energy. Japan briefly considered adopting the practice for the 2020 Olympics but rejected it due to a lack of popular support. 15In the U.S. there have been several efforts to make daylight saving time permanent. Last year, a bill called the "Sunshine Protection Act" passed the Senate but got stuck in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers could not agree on whether to keep standard time or permanent daylight saving time. 16The bill was proposed again this year. 17I'm Caty Weaver. 18Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with additional reporting from Reuters.