2026 time change dates for New York
At 2:00 AM the clocks jump straight to 3:00 AM in New York. That hour never happens, and everyone loses an hour of sleep.
At 2:00 AM the clocks return to 1:00 AM, so that hour is lived through twice and the night is an hour longer.
New York keeps EST in winter and shifts one hour forward for the summer.
Countdown to the next change
Agricultural Considerations
The story that DST was introduced for farmers has it exactly backwards. Farmers in New York and elsewhere were among its most persistent opponents, and the American farm lobby successfully campaigned to have national DST repealed after the First World War.
The reason is straightforward: farm work follows the sun, not the clock. Moving the clock forward just means doing the same work an hour earlier by the clock, while deliveries, markets and hired labour all shift with it. Dairy farmers make the point most often, since cows keep to their own schedule and take several days to adjust to a changed milking time.
Background
- Roughly 70 countries use some form of DST, but they are concentrated in Europe and North America. Most of Africa and Asia do not.
- Germany and Austria-Hungary were the first countries to adopt DST nationally, in April 1916, as a wartime fuel-saving measure.
- The energy case for DST is weak by modern standards. A US Department of Energy study in 2008 found savings of about 0.5% of daily electricity use, and other studies have found no saving at all.
Tips for New York
Use the phrase 'Spring forward, fall back' to remember which direction to change your clocks.
Gradually adjust your sleep schedule a few days before the time change to minimize disruption.
Consider the time change when scheduling meetings with people in other time zones.
Update your car clock, microwave, and other manual clocks that don't auto-update.
Frequently asked questions
When do the clocks change in New York in 2026?
Clocks go forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Which way do the clocks go?
"Spring forward, fall back" is the usual mnemonic: forward one hour in spring, back one hour in autumn.
Do I have to change anything myself?
Phones, computers and anything that syncs over the internet update on their own. Car clocks, ovens, microwaves and older wall clocks generally do not.
Is Daylight Saving Time being scrapped?
It has been proposed in many places and adopted in few. The European Parliament voted in 2019 to end mandatory clock changes and the change has stalled; in the United States the Sunshine Protection Act has repeatedly passed the Senate without becoming law. Most of the world that changes its clocks is still changing them.