AUSTIN (KXAN) — The time is here. Daylight saving time begins March 8. As the clock hits 2 a.m., we will “spring forward,” skipping to 3 a.m.
Daylight saving time runs from March 8 to Nov. 1 this year. During this period, clocks are set one hour ahead, shifting an extra hour of daylight into the evenings. As a result, mornings will have less sunlight while evenings will stay brighter for longer, giving people more hours of daylight after work or school.
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History of daylight saving time
Daylight saving time was first introduced as a way to save fuel during World War I by minimizing the use of artificial lighting. This concept was popularized in Germany and Austria in 1916 and adopted by the U.S. in 1918. It was mostly abandoned after World War I, and then re-established at the beginning of World War II until 1945. After the war, its use varied locally and was finally nationally mandated (with a few exceptions) by the Uniform Time Act of 1966.
Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe it, using standard time year-round.
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Changing daylight hours
As we move closer to spring, the number of daylight hours in Austin is continuing to increase each day. Austin’s Equilux, when daytime and nighttime are both 12 hours each, arrives March 16, a few days before the spring equinox.
From there, daylight keeps building until June 21, the longest day of the year with a little over 14 hours of sunlight. After the summer solstice, daylight hours slowly decrease through late summer into fall, reaching the fall Equilux on Sept. 26…