Most Americans will still be moving their clocks back one hour this fall, despite another push in Congress to make daylight saving time permanent and end the twice-yearly clock change.
For most people, this means gaining an extra hour of sleep as clocks return to standard time.
Wondering when clocks fall back? Here's when daylight saving time ends in 2026.
When does daylight saving time end in 2026? When do we fall back this year?
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November. In 2026, that date falls on Nov. 1, the earliest possible date for the annual time change.
What is daylight saving time? When do we change the clocks?
We change the clocks each year so more sunlight happens "during more of the hours when people are typically active," according to a Congressional Research Service report.
Daylight saving time started in 1918, although the regulations governing
it have changed multiple times. The current schedule was introduced in 2007 and it follows the Energy Policy Act of 2005, according to Time and Date.
Typically, daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November, according to Time and Date.
Most states use daylight saving time, with the exception of Hawaii and most of Arizona.
Could daylight saving time become permanent in 2026?
Unless Congress acts before Nov. 1, Ohioans will turn their clocks back one hour when daylight saving time ends. If lawmakers eventually make daylight saving time permanent, Ohio would get later winter sunsets, but winter sunrises would also occur nearly an hour later.
The bill has passed the U.S. House but remains pending in the Senate as of Sept. 16, 2026.
How late could Ohio sunrises get under permanent daylight saving time?
Permanent daylight saving time would have little effect in summer because Ohio already observes daylight saving time from March to November.
On the date of the summer solstice, sunrises would range from 5:53 a.m. in Akron to 6:12 a.m. in Cincinnati, while sunsets would occur between 9:02 p.m. and 9:07 p.m.
The biggest change would come in winter, when both sunrise and sunset would shift one hour later. On the day of the winter solstice, sunrise would occur as late as 8:47 a.m. in Akron, 8:50 a.m. in Columbus and 8:53 a.m. in Cincinnati, while sunsets would move to 6 p.m., 6:10 p.m. and 6:18 p.m., respectively.
The change wouldn't create more daylight. It would simply shift an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.
When is the first day of fall in 2026?
Meteorological fall begins on September 1, while astronomical fall starts with the autumnal equinox on Sept. 22, The Enquirer reports.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: When does daylight saving time end in 2026? When clocks fall back
