How US Daylight Saving Time Affects International Team Calls
Understand how US spring-forward and fall-back shifts change meeting times with Europe, India, and Asia-Pacific teams.
When Do US Clocks Change?
In the United States, Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday of March (clocks spring forward from 2:00 AM to 3:00 AM) and ends on the first Sunday of November (clocks fall back from 2:00 AM to 1:00 AM). This applies to most states -- Arizona (except the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii do not observe DST.
| Year | Spring Forward (US) | Fall Back (US) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | March 11 | November 4 |
| 2025 | March 10 | November 3 |
| 2026 | March 9 | November 2 |
| 2027 | March 15 | November 8 |
During DST, US Eastern Time shifts from EST (UTC-5) to EDT (UTC-4). All four continental US time zones shift simultaneously.
How It Affects US-Europe Calls
The US and Europe switch to summer time on different dates. The US springs forward on the second Sunday of March, while Europe waits until the last Sunday of March. In autumn, the US falls back on the first Sunday of November, while Europe falls back on the last Sunday of October. This creates two "gap windows" each year where the time difference is off by one hour from what teams expect.
The Spring Gap (2-3 weeks)
After the US springs forward but before Europe does, the US-UK difference shrinks from 5 hours to 4 hours, and the US-Central Europe difference shrinks from 6 hours to 5 hours. A meeting scheduled for "2 PM ET / 7 PM London" temporarily becomes "2 PM ET / 6 PM London." If your London colleague has a hard stop at 6 PM, they now get an unexpected extra hour.
The Autumn Gap (1 week)
Europe falls back about a week before the US. During this short window, the difference temporarily returns to the "standard time" gap even though the US is still on summer time. A "2 PM ET / 7 PM London" meeting will momentarily show as "2 PM ET / 7 PM London" again (after being 6 PM London during summer). Then when the US falls back the following week, the difference settles at its winter level.
| Year | US Spring Forward | EU Spring Forward | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Mar 11 | Apr 1 | 21 days |
| 2025 | Mar 10 | Mar 31 | 21 days |
| 2026 | Mar 9 | Mar 30 | 21 days |
| 2027 | Mar 15 | Mar 29 | 14 days |
During these gap periods, double-check your meeting times. Below is a work-hours overlap timeline for US and European zones.
How It Affects US-India Calls
India does not observe Daylight Saving Time. India Standard Time (IST) stays at UTC+5:30 year-round. This means the time difference between the US and India changes twice a year when the US shifts, but India does not.
Winter (EST: UTC-5)
New York to Mumbai: +10 hours 30 minutes. A 9:00 AM ET meeting lands at 7:30 PM IST.
Summer (EDT: UTC-4)
New York to Mumbai: +9 hours 30 minutes. A 9:00 AM ET meeting now lands at 6:30 PM IST -- one hour earlier for the India side. This is actually better for India-based team members, giving them more overlap during standard business hours.
The takeaway: US-India overlap windows are slightly better during US summer time. If your team struggles with late evening calls for India, the March spring-forward actually helps. But remember to notify your India colleagues that the meeting will shift by one hour on their calendars if they have not used IANA-aware scheduling.
Tips for Handling the Transition
Whether you are coordinating with Europe, India, or the Asia-Pacific region, these practices help your team survive DST transitions smoothly.
- Schedule using IANA time zones, not UTC offsets. When you create a recurring meeting set to "America/New_York," calendar apps adjust automatically when DST changes. If you schedule at "UTC-5" the meeting stays fixed to the offset and will be wrong during EDT.
- Set calendar alerts one week before each transition. Send a brief message to all cross-timezone participants: "US clocks spring forward this Sunday. Your meeting with the NY team will be 1 hour earlier next week."
- Use the ZoneCross tools for verification. The Meeting Finder and Best Meeting Time Calculator both account for DST automatically based on the date you select.
- Consider rotating meeting times for fairness. If DST pushes a meeting to an inconvenient time for one group (e.g., 9 PM for India), alternate between a time that favors each region on a weekly or monthly basis.
- Document the expected meeting times in each zone. Add a simple table to your team wiki or Slack channel topic showing what the meeting time is for each participant during both standard time and DST.
Before & After: How a 2 PM ET Meeting Shifts
Here is a concrete example showing how a standing 2:00 PM Eastern Time meeting maps to London and Mumbai in winter (standard time) versus summer (daylight time).
Winter (January)
US on EST (UTC-5)
- New York (ET) 2:00 PM
- London (GMT) 7:00 PM
- Mumbai (IST) 12:30 AM
Summer (June)
US on EDT (UTC-4)
- New York (ET) 2:00 PM
- London (BST) 7:00 PM
- Mumbai (IST) 11:30 PM
Notice that London shifts by the same amount as New York during summer (both on summer time), so the ET-London difference stays the same. But Mumbai does not shift, so the ET-IST difference changes by 1 hour between winter and summer.
Related Resources
- Meeting Time Finder -- Find the best overlap window for your specific team with custom work hours.
- Best Meeting Time Calculator -- Get ranked meeting slots with scores for multi-zone teams.
- What Is Daylight Saving Time? -- Full background on DST history, rules, and global adoption.
- DST Transition Calendar 2024-2027 -- Complete dates for every major time zone.