What is Daylight Saving Time (DST)?

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the practice of setting the clocks forward one hour during the warmer months of the year to have more evening daylight.

How does it work?

Typically, clocks are moved forward one hour in the spring ("Spring forward") and moved back one hour in the autumn ("Fall back") to return to standard time. When using an Online Timer, it must internally know if this shift will happen overnight so it doesn't ring an hour early or late.

History and Origin

Implemented on a large scale for the first time by the German Empire during World War I in 1916 to save coal. Since then, it has been an inconsistent policy, continually adopted and discarded in dozens of countries.

Problems in the Modern Era

In today's hyper-connected world, DST causes severe technical and coordination headaches:

• Desynchronization: Countries that use DST do not change the time on the same dates. North America changes its time in different weeks than Europe.
• Regional Abolition: Many countries (such as Russia, China, Mexico, and isolated states in the US like Arizona or Hawaii) no longer observe daylight saving time.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)