Daylight Saving Time Is Upon Us, It's Time To 'Spring Forward' In The Hudson Valley

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Our region is about to step into the light, but there will be a cost in lost sleep.

Hudson Valley residents will observe the start of daylight saving time on March 8, when clocks move ahead one hour. This change will result in lighter early evenings across the state. Sunset will occur later, with gains of one to three minutes daily, particularly around the vernal equinox on March 20. The latest sunset will happen between June 25 and 28, with June 27 noted for this year.

Sunrise will also occur later following the time change. On March 9, the first workday of the week, the sun will rise later than before the shift.

The debate over making daylight saving time permanent, often referred to as the "lock the clock" movement, has seen legislative efforts stall. The Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act in 2022, but the measure has not advanced further due to disagreements on whether to adopt permanent daylight saving or standard time.

The Standard Time Act of 1918 established time zones and temporary daylight saving time. This concept was initially adopted in Germany as a fuel-saving measure during World War I. After the war, states and cities set their own time policies, leading to the Uniform Time Act of 1966. This act established daylight saving time from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.

In December 1973, Congress passed temporary legislation to reintroduce daylight saving time for two years in response to the OPEC oil embargo. Early public support, initially around 79 percent, dropped to about 42 percent within a month, according to National Opinion Research Center polls. This decline was due to safety concerns. During the early weeks of the time switch, eight students in Florida and four students in Connecticut were fatally struck or struck while walking to school in the predawn darkness.

President Gerald Ford later signed an amendment that returned the nation to standard time from October 27, 1974, through the last Saturday in February 1975. The current March to November schedule for daylight saving time took effect in 2007 under the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Recent polls indicate mixed public opinion on the current system. An Associated Press/NORC poll last fall found that only 12 percent of U.S. adults favor the current system, while 47 percent are opposed and 40 percent are neutral. If forced to choose a permanent time, 56 percent prefer permanent daylight saving time, and about 40 percent prefer permanent standard time. A Gallup poll last spring showed support for daylight saving time declined to 40 percent by 2025, from highs of 73-74 percent in the 1990s. An informal Patch survey in 2024 showed respondents were nearly divided, with a slight preference for year-round daylight saving time.