The morning air is slightly cool and the evening darkness seems to fall a little earlier every day.

The time change is probably just around the corner.

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 3. This used to mean that all clocks had to be manually set back an hour to account for the time change, but modern technology has largely eliminated this tedious task. An occasional wall clock or the clock on your oven or microwave may still need to be operated manually.

Daylight saving time began on March 10, 2024, when we moved the clocks forward an hour, bringing more daylight into the evening hours. On November 3, we turn the clocks back to morning time, and that hour is back. Under the Uniform Time Act of 1966, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March each year and ends on the first Sunday in November. The time change is observed in all U.S. states except two – Hawaii and most of Arizona, where all parts of the state observe the time change except the Navajo Nation.

The twice-yearly clock-changing, introduced during wartime to save energy, has become increasingly unpopular in recent years, and no fewer than 19 states – including Alabama – have drafted measures to abolish the practice. But ending the practice permanently will require congressional action, and so far federal lawmakers have been slow to act.

In March 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent year-round. However, as the Farmer’s Almanac explained, federal law allows for permanent adoption of standard time but not daylight saving time, so any changes would need to be approved by the House of Representatives and then signed by the president. The bill failed in the House in June 2022 and expired in December 2022. It would have to be reintroduced for reconsideration. Subsequent efforts in the House and Senate have not succeeded.

In other words, don’t expect the time change to be stopped any time soon.