Arizona does not observe daylight saving time. Why?

ARIZONA, USA – The rest of the country is about to “fall back” as daylight saving time comes to an end. But for Arizona? We don't even worry about it!

Arizona does not participate in Daylight Saving Time, which means we don't have to change our clocks or worry about our sleep. However, it also means that functionally we will be in a different time zone.

Here's what you need to know about the “backslide” and its impact on Arizona.

RELATED: Daylight Saving Time is about to end. Here is when the clocks will “go back” in 2024

Daylight saving time ends on November 3rd, the first Sunday in November, at 2 a.m. local time. Most people get an extra hour of sleep.

Daylight saving time began when “war time” was introduced in the United States in 1918. The concept was intended to help save fuel during the First World War. While the rest of the country agreed, Maricopa County supervisors did not, and by 1919 Phoenix was actually on a different time zone than the rest of the state.

Daylight saving time was reintroduced during World War II and then made permanent in 1966. Arizona tried it, but ultimately decided that daylight saving time wasn't for desert dwellers – more sunlight in the evening means more air conditioning, more energy use, more misery… we'll pass.

When Daylight Saving Time “skips forward,” Arizona is at the same time as California, Nevada, Washington, most of Oregon, and northern Idaho. If the clocks are “set back” an hour, we will have the same time as New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, southern Idaho and part of eastern Oregon. This is Mountain Standard Time or MST. MST is Arizona’s “permanent time zone.”

Daylight saving time is observed in the Navajo Nation in the northeastern part of the state. This is not the case with the Hopi Nation, which is completely surrounded by the Navajo Reservation.

Hawaii and Arizona are the lone fighters here. There are several US territories such as Guam and Puerto Rico that do not observe daylight saving time, only two states do.

READ MORE: Yes, states can opt out of daylight saving time

Some states want to keep daylight saving time permanently. But the change hasn't happened yet. And even if that were the case, Arizona wouldn't really be affected.

Because the Pacific Coast states switch to MST during Daylight Saving Time, Arizona's permanent time zone, Arizona would always align with those states during the winter months rather than being an hour ahead of them.

READ MORE: Here's what permanent daylight saving time would mean for Arizona