The clocks go forward today.
This year, the clocks will change on March 27. The period when the clocks are one hour ahead is called British Summer Time (BST). There’s more daylight in the evenings and less in the mornings (sometimes called Daylight Saving Time).
It means that Britain is set to see lighter, longer days as summer time approaches. But some people can get confused as the clocks also go back one hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October.
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An easy way to remember whether the clocks go forwards or backwards is by using the phrase 'spring forward, fall back'. The idea behind the clock shift is to maximize sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere, as days start to lengthen in the spring and then wane in the fall. The logic is that by springing forward and falling back, people add an hour of sunlight to the end of the work day.
Your smartphone should update the time automatically, but when the fateful day arrives you’ll still need to go adjust any analogue clocks that you own.
When do the clocks change?
The clocks always go forward on the final Sunday of March, which means in 2022 they will change on Sunday 27 March, a day earlier than last year. In autumn the clocks then always go back again on the final Sunday of October, which means this year they will change on 30 October.
What time do the clocks go forward?
The clocks always change at the weekend, in the middle of the night, to ensure that there is limited disruption for schools and businesses. On Sunday 27 March, 2022, the clocks will go forward at 1.00am (at which point it will become 2.00am), hence the majority of us losing an hour of sleep.
When the clocks go back on 30 October the change happens at 2.00am (with the time going back to 1.00am), meaning you’ll probably either get a lie in or get up an hour earlier than usual to seize the day.
Why do we have daylight saving time?
The campaign for British Summer Time came about at the beginning of the 20th century. Moving the clocks forward in the summer months would give us darker mornings but lighter, longer evenings. British Summer Time was adopted in Britain in 1916 to save fuel and money.
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