Also this year, there is no need for the contrary, the summer time ends in the United States, which will end the night between Saturday and Sunday 2 November, at 2:00 in the morning, when the watches will be moved back an hour. The change marks the return to the solar hour, that is the standard time used in the country for about five months a year. Tradition wants this change to coincide with a Sunday, to reduce the effects on work and transport.
The time change calendar in the United States has been regulated since 2007 through the Energy Policy Act, a federal law establishing the beginning of the legal hour on the second Sunday of March and its end on the first Sunday of November. In 2025 the anniversary falls on 2 November, one of the two possible dates: may also take place on 1 November, depending on the calendar configuration. The previous year the passage took place on 3 November, so this year the return to the solar hour will take place a day earlier.
Despite the common use of the term “One hour less” (and in the case of the legal hour, “One hour more”), the change of time does not change the amount of natural light available, but anticipates the time when sunrise and sunset happen compared to watches. For this reason, immediately after the transition, the days will appear shorter, with the evening darkness that will arrive sensibly before. The historical goal of the legal hour was to move some hours of light towards the end of the day, potentially reducing the energy demand in the evening hours, although for years economists and experts discuss the real effectiveness of this mechanism.
The daylight saving time is observed in most of the U.S. territory, with some exceptions: Hawaii, most of the Arizona and some territories like Puerto Rico and Guam do not participate in the seasonal change. At international level, many countries adopt a similar system, including Canada, Mexico, Italy and other European states, albeit with different dates and rules. Other countries, such as Japan and Iceland, do not use summer time at all.
For years in the United States we have been discussing the possibility of making the time permanent or, on the contrary, eliminating it. Some legislative initiatives, such as the “Sunshine Protection Act”, have received approval from the Senate but not the Chamber, leaving the current system in force. In the absence of a Congress intervention, the next change towards the legal hour is scheduled for Sunday, March 8, 2026.
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