No more sunsets before 5 p.m.? How permanent daylight saving would change winter
The Hill · C · trust 46/100
Comments: by Addy Bink - 08/23/26 11:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Addy Bink - 08/23/26 11:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING (NEXSTAR) – As the end of daylight saving time grows ever nearer (it’s happening as early as possible this year ), President Trump has continued his push to have the Senate pass a bill that would lock the clocks .
If daylight saving time were to become permanent, winters could feel different for many of us.
Under the Sunshine Protection Act, states that do not exempt themselves would observe daylight saving time year-round. Since Hawaii and most of Arizona already observe year-round standard time , they would remain exempt.
Outside of those two states, sunrises and sunsets would happen later than they currently do between early November and March.
In much of the U.S., the sun wouldn’t rise until after 8 a.m. for at least part of the winter. For some, the sun wouldn’t come up until after 9 a.m.
The trade-off, though, would be later sunsets in winter.
Depending on where you live, many winter sunsets may happen in the 4 or 5 o’clock hours. If our clocks did not fall back an hour in November, as they have done for years, those sunsets would shift to the 5 and 6 o’clock hours, respectively.
You may even be privy to a sunset after 7 p.m. — something we don’t see during winter now.
The interactive table below shows how many winter days you would see sunsets after 6 p.m. (or 7 p.m., for some) if permanent daylight saving time were to take effect. You can also view the latest winter sunset each city would experience under permanent daylight saving time. (In all cases, this occurs the day before clocks “spring forward” an hour.)
Though it isn’t displayed on the table above, Juneau would see its 40 sunsets that currently occur in the 3 p.m. hour shift back to the 4 o’clock hour.
Cities that currently see a large chunk of winter sunsets in the 4 o’clock hour now would see that slide back to the 5 o’clock hour. For cities like Green Bay and Burlington, Vermont, which each experience more than 90 winter sunsets before 5 p.m, the change could be well-received.
Juneau, Indianapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, would have some of the latest possible sunsets, all coming after 7:40 p.m. in early March. They would, however, receive the brunt of the less-desirable part of permanent daylight saving time: late winter sunrises .
While not as late as Juneau (the latest winter sunrise there would be after 11 a.m.), Indianapolis and Louisville would have sunrises as late or later than 9 a.m. for at least part of winter. Grand Rapids would have one of the latest sunrises in the country at 9:14 a.m.
It’s the late sunrises that contributed to the downfall of permanent daylight saving time in the past. It could negatively impact your health , disrupt how thousands practice their religion , and have “considerable implications” on your future flights , at least temporarily.
The House already passed the Sunshine Protection Act of 2026, but the Senate is on recess until September. It’s unclear, though, if the Senate will take up the legislation or if it has enough votes to pass and make daylight saving time permanent.
Congress is also considering two bills in the House that would give states the option to observe year-round daylight saving time, as well as a bill to make half-daylight saving time permanent , and a bill to make standard time permanent , with exceptions.
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