Daylight saving time: US clocks to 'spring forward' by an hour from Sunday morning

Britain, France and Germany change their clocks on the last Sunday of March that continues till the last Sunday of October.

From March 14, the clock will 'spring forward' by an hour to 2am in the United States, according to the practice of daylight saving which generally begins on the second Sunday of March (after the Energy Policy Act of 2005 implemented in 2007) with the clock springing forward by an hour that continues till the first Sunday of November.

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas. (AP)

However, the daylight saving time in the US commences at 2am and begins from the last Sunday of April of each year to the last Sunday of October of each year, as per the Uniform Time Act 1966. "During the period commencing at 2 o'clock antemeridian on the last Sunday of April of each year and ending at 2 o'clock antemeridian on the last Sunday of October of each year," the act reads.

Britain, France and Germany change their clocks on the last Sunday of March that continues till the last Sunday of October.

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.

Daylight saving time is practised in over 70 countries, as per dateandtime.com, and affects more than one billion people. The idea of implementing the clock change is to extend an hour of sunlight from early morning to the evening to increase productivity by making more use of the daylight.

Benjamin Franklin is considered to be the father of the concept as he suggested to the editor of the Journal of Paris to economise the use of candles by waking people up at sunrise.

There have been arguments that propose and oppose the concept of daylight saving. There are studies that show the implementation of clock change helps in saving energy cost. The New York Times cited a 2008 report of the Department of Energy that said the daylight time extension helps in saving 0.5 per cent of electricity per day.

However, there have also been studies that show springing ahead increases the residential energy demand and pollution. The European Union and other US states like California and Florida are proposing to end the daylight shift. They argued that countries like India, China and Russia do not change their clocks. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine also demanded the abolition of the clock change as it said disrupts the body clock and affects the mental and physical that can lead to increased risk of stroke and cardiovascular incidents caused by the disturbed sleep pattern.