What if CNY didn’t change the clocks twice a year?

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) –  The first weekend of November Americans will go through the fall ritual of moving their clocks backward one hour, going from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time.

In recent years, the change has bought increasing debate about the inconveniences and health concerns about switching the clocks this time of year then switching back an hour in November.

If we didn’t switch our clocks twice a year, what would be the impacts on the daylight in Syracuse and Central New York?

What would permanent Daylight Saving Time look like?

The most noticeable change to moving clocks ‘ahead’ an hour and keeping it there year-round is the late sunrises in Winter. The latest sunrises in early January would be 8:36 am and from mid-November through mid-February sunrises would be after 8 am. It would be a dark walk to the bus stop for students or drive for morning commuters in the morning.

On the flip side, there would be no sunsets earlier than 5:30 pm in early winter.

There would be no change in the spring through the first part of fall. We still get our sunsets of almost at 9 pm and our earliest sunrise in early June would be around 5:30 pm.

Permanent Daylight Saving Time was tried once before, in 1974, in response to the Mideast oil embargo. Public opinion soured on the change quickly and in October of the same year we were back to the system we have today.

What changes come with permanent Standard Time?

Going to permanent Standard Time keeps things the same during the winter.

What would come as a shock to most would be the early sunsets during the summer.  Our latest sunsets at the end of June in Syracuse would be 7:48 pm. No sunsets at all after 8 pm!  Currently we go from late April through the start of the New York State Fair (or over 100 straight days) with sunsets after 8 pm.

Be prepared for it to get lighter earlier in the day as well. In June, the sun would rise around 4:30 in the morning!

So, there are plus and minuses to either change, if either scenario were to be implemented. You likely would not keep everyone happy.

Is there talk of a change from changing the clocks?

Legislation has come up in Congress several times in the past few years to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. It is actually called the “Sunshine Protection Act” Sounds more like a campaign for the sunblock industry, right? Resolutions for permanent Daylight Saving Time were introduced again in Congress earlier this year but they have not been voted on in either the Senate or House of Representatives as of late October.

When legislation was passed in 1966 to standardize Daylight Saving Time, one provision of the law allows any state the option to opt out of Daylight Saving Time and just observe Standard Time without an act of the U.S. Congress.

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