How often the sun would rise after 8 a.m. under permanent daylight saving time

Energy & Environment How often the sun would rise after 8 a.m. under permanent daylight saving time Comments: by Addy Bink - 07/26/26 12:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Addy Bink - 07/26/26 12:00 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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(NEXSTAR) – The U.S. is on the verge of observing permanent daylight saving time again following the passage of the Sunshine Protection Act in the House earlier this month.

Should the Senate pass the bill and President Trump sign it into law, winters could feel different.

Under the Sunshine Protection Act, states that do not exempt themselves would observe daylight saving time year-round. That means our clocks would not fall back in November as they currently do.

Generally speaking, that also means we would have later sunrises and sunsets than we have experienced between early November and early March. It’s the later sunrises in winter that didn’t sit well with some when the U.S. last observed permanent daylight saving time.

Winter sunsets in much of the U.S. would occur after 5 p.m., a huge improvement for those who experience sunsets during the 4 o’clock hour now. Sunrises, though, would largely happen after 8 a.m. – and in some areas, after 9 a.m. In Juneau, Alaska, the sun wouldn’t rise until after 11 a.m. during part of the year.

Across the Lower 48, sunrises are generally more reasonable. In Las Vegas, for example, the latest winter sunrise under permanent daylight saving time would be 7:52 a.m. In Los Angeles, it would be 7:59 a.m.

The interactive table below shows how many winter days would see sunrises after 8 a.m. (or 9 a.m., in some cases), under permanent daylight saving time. You can also view the latest winter sunrise and the earliest possible sunset in the right-hand columns.

Some cities wouldn’t ever see a sunrise after 8 a.m. In Nashville, for example, the latest sunrise under permanent daylight saving time would be 7:58 a.m. In New Orleans, it would be 7:57 a.m.

Grand Rapids, Michigan; Indianapolis; and Louisville, Kentucky, the sun would rise after 8 a.m. for more than 140 days of winter. In Grand Rapids, 55 of those sunrises would happen after 9 a.m., with the latest occurring at 9:14 a.m.

The early sunrises may not bother those who prefer the other change permanent daylight saving time brings: later sunsets in winter.

In Grand Rapids, the earliest the sun sets now is 5:08 p.m. Under permanent daylight saving time, the sun would set no sooner than 6:08 p.m. Across much of the U.S., sunsets would happen no sooner than 6:30 p.m.

Not everyone supports the shift to permanent daylight saving time, though. Many health experts agree that if we’re going to stop changing the clocks, it should be on permanent standard time. It could impact how thousands practice their religion. It could have “considerable implications” on your future flights, at least temporarily.

It’s difficult to say when, if ever, the Senate will pick up the Sunshine Protection Act. Efforts by the Senate to fast-track its version were thwarted.

Congress is also considering two bills in the House that would give states the option to observe year-round daylight saving time, a bill to make half-daylight saving time permanent, and a newly introduced bill to make standard time permanent, with exceptions.

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