Eastern Time Zone

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Eastern Time Zone
Time zone
Timezoneswest.PNG
  Eastern Time Zone
UTC offset
EST UTC−05:00
EDT UTC−04:00
Current time
03:18, 18 April 2024 EST [refresh]
04:18, 18 April 2024 EDT [refresh]
Observance of DST
DST is observed in parts of this time zone.

The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico.

Contents

Places that use:

On the second Sunday in March, at 2:00 a.m. EST, clocks are advanced to 3:00 a.m. EDT leaving a one-hour gap. On the first Sunday in November, at 2:00 a.m. EDT, clocks are moved back to 1:00 a.m. EST, which results in one hour being duplicated. Panama and Jamaica do not observe DST.

History

The boundaries of the Eastern Time Zone have moved westward since the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) took over time-zone management from railroads in 1938. The easternmost and northernmost counties in Kentucky were added to the zone in the 1940s, and in 1961 most of the state went Eastern. In 2000, Wayne County, on the Tennessee border, switched from Central to Eastern Time. [1] Within the United States, the Eastern Time Zone is the most populous region, with nearly half of the country's population.

In March 2019, the Florida Legislature passed a bill requesting authorization from Congress for year-round daylight saving time, which would effectively put Florida on Atlantic Standard Time year-round (except for west of the Apalachicola River, which would be on Eastern Standard Time year-round). [2] A similar bill was proposed for the Canadian province of Ontario by its legislative assembly in late 2020, which would have a similar effect on the province if passed. [3]

Daylight saving time

For those in the United States, daylight saving time for the Eastern Time Zone was introduced by the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which specified that daylight saving time would run from the last Sunday of April until the last Sunday in October. [4] The act was amended to make the first Sunday in April the beginning of daylight saving time beginning in 1987. [4]

Later, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight saving time in the United States, beginning in 2007. Since then, local times change at 2:00 a.m. EST to 3:00 a.m. EDT on the second Sunday in March, and return from 2:00 a.m. EDT to 1:00 a.m. EST on the first Sunday in November. [4]

In Canada, daylight saving time begins and ends on the same days and at the same times as it does in the United States. [5] [6]

Canada

In Canada, the following provinces and territories are part of the Eastern Time Zone: [7] Within Canada, as with the United States, the Eastern Time Zone is the most populous time zone.

Most of Canada observes daylight saving time synchronously with the United States, with the exception of Saskatchewan, Yukon, [8] and several other very localized areas. None of those areas are in the Eastern Time Zone.

United States

The boundary between time zones is set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations, with the boundary between the Eastern and Central Time Zones being specifically detailed in 49 C.F.R. part 71. [9]

Washington, D.C., and 17 states are located entirely within the Eastern Time Zone. They are:

Five states are divided between the Eastern Time Zone and the Central Time Zone. The following locations observe Eastern Time:

Additionally, Phenix City, Alabama, and several nearby communities in Russell County, Alabama, unofficially observe Eastern Time. [11] This is due to their close proximity to Columbus, Georgia, which is on Eastern Time. In addition Smiths Station in Lee County along with Valley and Lanett in Chambers county honor Eastern Time. [12]

Mexico

Caribbean islands

The Bahamas and Haiti officially observe both Eastern Standard Time during the winter months and Eastern Daylight Time during the summer months. Cuba generally follows the U.S. with Eastern Standard Time in the winter, and Eastern Daylight Time in the summer, but the exact day of change varies year to year. The Cayman Islands and Jamaica use Eastern Standard Time year-round.[ citation needed ]

Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands followed Eastern Time with daylight saving until 2015, when the territory switched to the Atlantic Time Zone. The Turks and Caicos Islands switched back to the pre-2015 schedule in March 2018. [14] A 2017 consultation paper highlighted the advantage for business and tourism of being in the same time zone as the eastern United States as an important factor in the decision. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time zone</span> Area that observes a uniform standard time

A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it is convenient for areas in frequent communication to keep the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daylight saving time</span> Seasonal change of clock settings

Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight saving(s), daylight savings time, daylight time (United States and Canada), or summer time (United Kingdom, European Union, and others), is the practice of advancing clocks to make better use of the longer daylight available during summer, so that darkness falls at a later clock time. The typical implementation of DST is to set clocks forward by one hour in spring or late winter, and to set clocks back by one hour to standard time in the autumn (or fall in North American English, hence the mnemonic: "spring forward and fall back").

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Time Zone</span> Time zone in North America

The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America and some Caribbean islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Time Zone</span> Time zone of North America

The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time (UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time (UTC−06:00). The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time at the 105th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. In the United States, the exact specification for the location of time zones and the dividing lines between zones is set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations at 49 CFR 71.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Time Zone</span> North American time zone

The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC−08:00). During daylight saving time, a time offset of UTC−07:00 is used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska Time Zone</span> Time zone in Alaska

The Alaska Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting nine hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC−09:00). During daylight saving time its time offset is eight hours (UTC−08:00). The clock time in this zone is based on mean solar time at the 135th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time in the United States</span> U.S. time zones

In the United States, time is divided into nine standard time zones covering the states, territories and other US possessions, with most of the country observing daylight saving time (DST) for approximately the spring, summer, and fall months. The time zone boundaries and DST observance are regulated by the Department of Transportation, but no single map of those existed until the agency announced intentions to make one in September 2022. Official and highly precise timekeeping services (clocks) are provided by two federal agencies: the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) ; and the United States Naval Observatory (USNO). The clocks run by these services are kept synchronized with each other as well as with those of other international timekeeping organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UTC−05:00</span> Identifier for a time offset from UTC of −5

UTC−05:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −05:00. In North America, it is observed in the Eastern Time Zone during standard time, and in the Central Time Zone during the other eight months. The western Caribbean uses it year round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Time Zone</span> Time zone (UTC−04:00)

The Atlantic Time Zone is a geographical region that keeps standard time—called Atlantic Standard Time (AST)—by subtracting four hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), resulting in UTC−04:00. AST is observed in parts of North America and some Caribbean islands. During part of the year, some portions of the zone observe daylight saving time, referred to as Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT), by moving their clocks forward one hour to UTC−03:00. The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 60th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UTC−04:00</span> Identifier for a time offset from UTC of −4

UTC−04:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −04:00.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UTC−06:00</span> Identifier for a time offset from UTC of −6

UTC−06:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −06:00. In North America, it is observed in the Central Time Zone during standard time, and in the Mountain Time Zone during the other eight months. Several Latin American countries and a few other places use it year-round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time in Australia</span> Time zones in Australia

Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time, Australian Central Standard Time and Australian Western Standard Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time in Canada</span> Time zones of Canada

Canada is divided into six time zones. Most areas of the country's provinces and territories operate on standard time from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March and daylight saving time the rest of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time in Mexico</span> Time zones used in Mexico

Mexico uses four time zones:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daylight saving time in the United States</span> Practice of setting the clock forward by one hour in the United states

Most of the United States observes daylight saving time, the practice of setting the clock forward by one hour when there is longer daylight during the day, so that evenings have more daylight and mornings have less. Exceptions include Arizona, Hawaii, and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 established the system of uniform daylight saving time throughout the US.

In Canada, daylight saving time (DST) is observed in nine of the country's ten provinces and two of its three territories—though with exceptions in parts of several provinces and Nunavut.

Most of Mexico no longer observes daylight saving time as it was abolished on Sunday, 30 October 2022. The exceptions are the entire state of Baja California, as well as the border municipalities in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas which still observe daylight savings time matching the schedule of the United States beginning on the second Sunday of March and ending on the first Sunday of November.

Daylight saving time in the Americas is the arrangement in the Americas by which clocks are advanced by one hour in spring and moved back in autumn, to make the most of seasonal daylight. The practice is widespread in North America, with most of Canada and the United States participating, but much less so in Central and South America.

Alaska is officially covered by two time zones - the Alaska Time Zone and the Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone. The Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone is used for the Aleutian Islands west of 169°30′W, and the rest of the state uses the Alaska Time Zone. The entirety of Alaska observes daylight saving time.

References

  1. ↑ "Why Louisville?". Louisville magazine. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  2. ↑ Klas, Mary Ellen (March 6, 2018). "Legislature approves year-round daylight saving time—but it's not a done deal yet". Miami Herald . Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  3. ↑ Patton, Jessica (October 7, 2020). "Ontario MPP puts forward bill to make Daylight Saving Time standard time". Global News . Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Prerau, David (2006). "Early adoption and U.S. Law". Daylight Saving Time. Web Exhibit. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  5. ↑ Law, Gwillim (September 21, 2007). "United States Time Zones".
  6. ↑ "Daylight Saving Time Starts Sunday". Government of Ontario. March 7, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Time zones and daylight saving time". nrc.canada.ca. National Research Council Canada. March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Yukon to end seasonal time change". yukon.ca. March 4, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  9. ↑ The specification for the Eastern Time Zone is set forth at 49 C.F.R. § 71.4, and is listed in text Archived January 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine and PDF Archived January 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine formats. The boundary between Eastern and Central is set forth at 49 C.F.R. § 71.5, and is listed in text and PDF Archived January 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine formats.
  10. ↑ McDearman, Brian (August 13, 2006). "Parts of Eastern Alabama split between 2 time zones". Decatur Daily. AP. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
  11. ↑ Emily. "Our Community". Phenix City, Alabama. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  12. ↑ https://www.al.com/living/2017/02/do_you_know_which_alabama_town.html
  13. ↑ "On Mexican Time: Changing Time Zones To Accommodate Tourism". Forbes . Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  14. ↑ "DST Dates Confirmed". Timeanddate.com. July 25, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Consultation paper Daylight Saving" (PDF). April 2017. pp. 6–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
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