When Sun Sets In Sudbury As Daylight Saving Time Starts

SUDBURY, MA — Clocks “spring forward” Sunday for the beginning of daylight saving time, and that means an extra hour of sunshine at the end of the day for the next nine months. The sun will set at 6:49 p.m. Sunday evening in Sudbury.

Keep in mind that sunrise will be an hour later than you’re accustomed to with the beginning of daylight saving time. Sunrise Monday will come just after 7 a.m.

Although the switch to daylight saving time is often associated with the beginning of spring, the vernal equinox doesn't occur until Tuesday, March 19.

This year, daylight saving time will last from 2 a.m. Sunday, March 10, until 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3. Only two states — Hawaii and most of Arizona — have opted out of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which mandated daylight saving time.

The Time Act could be changed to allow for year-round daylight saving time, as legislation passed in the Senate last year provides. Or it could eliminate it altogether in favor of year-round standard time, as some representatives in the House have suggested. The Sunshine Protection Act hasn’t budged since the Senate passed it in early 2022.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-MA, has been one of the main backers of that law, often saying it would, "shine a light on the darkest days of the year and deliver more sun, more smiles, and brighter skies."

"The antiquated biannual ritual of toggling between times isn’t just an inconvenience—it also has very real impacts on our economy, our energy consumption, and our health," Markey said in a news release Friday. "We know the sun will come out tomorrow, so let’s make that sun stay out an hour later by making Daylight Saving Time permanent and passing the Sunshine Protection Act. You can bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun … and smiles."

The state Legislature has also debated a Massachusetts exit from DST, but those proposals also haven't gone anywhere following hearings in October.

State Rep. Vanna Howard, D-Lowell, has proposed moving Massachusetts to Atlantic Standard Time, thereby eliminated DST. A report on the ramifications of that has been pushed back to July 1. State Sen. John Keenan, D-Quincy, has proposed keeping standard time permanent throughout the year. Like Howard's bill, a report won't be due back until July.