Who observes daylight saving time?

Who observes daylight saving time?

Who observes daylight saving time? Not everyone is in the clock-changing frenzy. In the United States, Hawaii, and most of Arizona (excluding the Navajo Nation), as well as the territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, all options to get out of summertime.

Globally, the popularity of changing clocks also varies. Most of North America, Europe, New Zealand, and some regions in the Middle East are on the annual shift, though each has different start and end dates. But most of Africa and Asia do not change their clocks. South America and Australia are divided on the matter.

Europe’s involvement, however, may soon change. The European Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, announced in 2018 that the time change of the year, which previously covered March and October, would be the last in the EU. According to the German news service Deutsche Welle, each EU state must decide by April 2019 whether to stay in summer or winter.

Are there benefits to daylight saving time?

To many, change seems intrusive, resulting in missed meetings and sleepy citizens. There can be even more serious effects. Some studies have identified an increase in heart attacks that coincides with jumping forward and a slight decrease when falling backward. Other studies suggest that the time change could be linked to an increase in fatal car accidents, although the effect is small relative to the total number of accidents each year. Other concerns include impacts on the immune system due to the inevitable loss of sleep.

What’s more, many studies have questioned whether there have ever been energy savings. A 2008 study by the US Department of Energy suggested that in the US, an additional four weeks of daylight saving time saved about 0.5 percent on total electricity per day. But others conclude that the situation is largely a washout: the last hours of sunlight often reduce electricity use during this time, but also spur heavier use of air conditioning at night or higher energy demands for lighting. dark mornings.

Still, those impacts can be location-specific. One study found that daylight saving time caused an increase in energy demand and pollution emissions in Indiana, while another found that it led to a slight reduction in energy use in Norway and Sweden.

These days, the arguments in favor of daylight saving time usually center around the boost that the time shift gives to nighttime activities. People tend to go outside in dim light after work – playing sports, going for a walk, taking the kids to the playground – instead of sitting on the couch. Many outdoor industries, including golf and barbecue, have even promoted daylight savings time, which they say increases profits. The oil industry is also a fan, as people drive more if it’s still dim after work or school.

But in many places, the time change is very unpopular. Europe’s pending move away from the annual change stemmed from a survey that revealed that some 80 percent of an estimated 4.6 million respondents were against daylight saving time. And some US states are also starting to push for change. For now, though, if you live in a region that changes clocks twice a year, be wary of its effects.