Why is Florida & New York etc always 5 hours behind us, even thou we change the time twice a year in UK?

Answer 1

Strictly speaking, that is not entirely correct.

The UK switches from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to British Summer Time (BST) at 01:00 GMT on the last Sunday of March. Up to last year, the USA switched to Daylight Saving Time (DST) at 02:00 local time on the first Sunday in April. So there was always a week (or one week and seven hours, to be exact) when BST was 6 hours ahead of New York.

Starting this year, the USA switched to DST on the second Sunday of March and so there was a two week period (or thirteen days and nineteen hours, to be exact) where there was a 4-hour difference.

There will be a one week period (six days and eighteen hours) of 6 hours difference at the switch from DST and BST. The USA used to change on the last Sunday in October, just like the UK, but from this year it will be the first Sunday in November.

Answer 2

They also change times twice a year. Since the change happens at midnight and you are five hours earlier, then in "Spring Forward" you'd be six hours ahead for the first five hours until their time change kicks in. At "Fall Back", you would be only four hours earlier for that first five hours.

Answer 3

Because they change their clocks too..