Arizona TimeWhat Happened to Arizona Daylight Saving Time?
However, an additional factor in trying to figure out what time it is in Arizona is the fact that there is no Arizona daylight saving time. Arizona is only one of two states in the U.S. that does not observe Daylight Saving Time, which is the period from March 8 to November 1 when clocks must be set ahead one hour. This federally-mandated seasonal time adjustment, first begun in 1973, is purported to increase energy savings by providing an extra hour of daylight in the evening. So from March 8 to November 1 when the rest of the USA observes daylight saving, Arizona time is the same as West Coast time. However, from November 2 to March 7, the time in Arizona is one hour ahead of the West Coast.
To make things slightly more complicated, there is one exception to the Arizona time zone rule: the Navajo Nation. Navajo tribal lands encompass most of northeastern Arizona, part of northwestern New Mexico and a portion of southeastern Utah. In order to maintain consistency throughout their nation, the Navajos have chosen to observe Daylight Saving Time. Therefore, they will be one hour ahead of the rest of Arizona during Daylight Saving Time from March through November. The current date and time in Phoenix, Arizona is: Why is There No Arizona Daylight Saving Time?Quite simply because of the heat. To understand just what an impact an additional hour of daylight can make in Arizona, you really have to spend a summer here. For a brief period, Arizona time did switch to daylight saving time in 1967 when the federal government was attempting to standardize time practices in the United States. Desert-dwelling Arizonans soured on it quickly. Arizona daylight saving time shifted an hour of daylight into the evening during the hottest months of the year when temperatures of 100°F or more are common. During the Arizona daylight saving time experiment, an extra hour of extreme temperatures forced people to delay their outdoor activities late into the evening. While on Mountain Standard Time, summer evening temperatures cooled around 9:00 p.m. On daylight saving time, the temperatures didn't start to drop until around 10:00 p.m. Arizonans complained bitterly and profusely. So, the Arizona legislature returned the state to Arizona standard time in 1968. In 1973, when the U.S. government instituted daylight saving time across the nation, Arizona successfully lobbied to stay on standard Arizona time. Arizona's strong legislature – including then-Senate Majority leader Sandra Day O’Connor – and its powerful congressional delegation argued that there would be no fuel savings in Arizona because citizens would have to run their air conditioners longer in the evening. Just two days before the federal mandate began, then-Secretary of Transportation Claude S. Brinegar granted the daylight saving time exemption. There hasn't been any serious consideration of changing the time in Arizona since then. What is the other state that doesn't observe daylight savings time? Hawaii. Return to Arizona Travel Tips page from Arizona Time
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