Mexico’s Senate has voted in favor of a bill to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, effectively putting an end to the practice of changing clocks on a biannual basis for most of the country. 

The area along the border with the United States would not be affected by the measure, meaning it would continue to change its clocks twice a year. 

Having already passed the lower house of Congress by a 59-25 vote with 12 abstentions, the bill will go to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to be signed into law. 

“This new law seeks to guarantee the human right to health and increase safety in the morning, procure the well-being and productivity of the population, and contribute to saving electric energy,” said Mexico’s Senate on its Twitter. 

Previously, Health Secretary Jorge Alcocer argued that setting clocks back or forward damages people's health.

The measure would mean darkness falling an hour earlier on summer afternoons. 

If signed, Sunday — October 30 — would mark the final time Mexico would be changing its clocks. Mexico adopted Daylight Saving Time across the nation in 1996.

Daylight Savings has been a controversial topic for decades, with arguments both for an against the practice . 

Supporters of daylight saving time, such as retailers, have argued that extra daylight will lead to a boost in sales.

Critics have argued that ending daylight saving time would disrupt people’s circadian rhythms, which is linked to sunlight. As a result, more people would end up feeling tired and lead to more dangerous commutes during what would be darker mornings. 

In March 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation to make daylight saving time permanent. However, more than seven months later, the House has yet to reach a consensus regarding the matter.

Hawaii and the majority of Arizona do not use daylight saving time, in addition to several U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Approximately 70 countries worldwide utilize Daylight Saving Time in at least a portion of the country. Among the industrialized countries that do not observe it include Japan, India, and China. 

Dating back to 2019, European Union lawmakers voted to rid themselves of the seasonal time change altogether, instead allowing each country to choose whether it would follow daylight saving time throughout the year or maintain standard time.

However, the countries disagreed over which time to adopt. The pandemic would further stall those debates. 

Daylight Saving Time dates back over 300 years; however, it didn’t become standard practice in most countries until the latter part of the 20th century.