Clocks turn back Sunday as daylight saving time ends

Clocks across Southern California will roll back one hour early Sunday as daylight saving time ends, and residents were being reminded Friday to turn their clocks back.

At 2 a.m. Sunday, clocks will return to 1 a.m., restoring Pacific Standard Time. Many cellphones, computers and other connected devices will update automatically, but clocks on appliances, watches and some vehicles may need to be reset manually.

The change will bring earlier daylight in the morning and earlier darkness in the evening. The sun will rise at about 6:13 a.m. and set at about 5 p.m. Sunday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration advises motorists to slow down and watch for pedestrians and children, particularly near school zones and bus stops, as darkness returns earlier. Pedestrians are advised to wear bright or reflective clothing and use a flashlight after dark.

Fire departments recommend using the time change as a reminder to test smoke alarms and practice a home fire escape plan. Residents should also check the batteries in their carbon monoxide detectors.

Daylight saving time began March 8 and ends Sunday under federal law, which schedules the changes for the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November.

Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time. Neither do American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

California voters approved Proposition 7 in 2018, but the measure did not end the twice-yearly clock changes. It gave the Legislature authority, with a two-thirds vote, to change the state’s daylight saving time schedule as long as the change complies with federal law.

Under current federal law, California could adopt standard time throughout the year. It cannot keep daylight saving time year-round unless Congress changes federal law.

The House voted 308-117 July 14 to approve the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent in states that currently observe it and end the spring and fall clock changes.

The measure, H.R. 139, was sent to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, where it has stalled. A Senate companion measure, S. 29, received a 16-12 majority vote in committee in April 2025, but the panel said another vote would be required to comply with its in-person attendance rules.

Neither measure has reached a Senate floor vote. An earlier version of the Sunshine Protection Act passed the Senate by unanimous consent in 2022 but stalled in the House.

President Donald Trump has urged senators to approve the House bill.

“The United States Senate is letting the Daylight Saving Bill die, when a vast Majority of the Country want it,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. He added that most people want more evening light and no longer want to change their clocks.

Trump’s position has shifted. In December 2024, he called for eliminating daylight saving time, describing it as inconvenient and costly. He called the issue “50-50” in March 2025, but later backed permanent daylight saving time and urged Congress to provide more light at the end of the day.

Several senators oppose the House bill, arguing that permanent daylight saving time would leave children and commuters in some northern states traveling before sunrise during the winter. The Senate is unlikely to vote on the measure before the end of the year, according to media reports.

The nation tried permanent daylight saving time in 1974 during an energy crisis, but Congress ended the experiment early after public support fell amid concerns about children traveling to school in the dark.

Absent a change in federal law, daylight saving time will return at 2 a.m. March 14, 2027, when clocks will move forward one hour.