Clocks To Go Back, Ending British Summer Time
Millions in the UK will gain an extra hour as the clocks revert to Greenwich Mean Time.
The United Kingdom will return to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) this Sunday, October 24, as the clocks are set back one hour at 2 a.m. This change marks the end of British Summer Time (BST) and provides an additional hour of sleep for many.
British Summer Time will resume on March 28, 2027, when clocks will spring forward again, signaling the start of longer days. The practice of adjusting clocks twice a year, while familiar to generations, has been a subject of debate.
The system is designed to maximize daylight during the winter by shifting an hour from the evening to the morning. For most modern devices connected to the internet via Wi-Fi or 5G, the time will update automatically.
The concept of daylight saving in Britain was initially proposed by Edwardian campaigner William Willett. In his 1907 pamphlet, "The Waste of Daylight," Willett argued that people missed out on daylight by sleeping through bright summer mornings and suggested advancing clocks during the summer months to extend lighter evenings.
Willett's proposals faced several rejections in Parliament before World War I. Germany's adoption of daylight saving in April 1916, aimed at conserving fuel and boosting wartime productivity, prompted Britain to follow suit. The Summer Time Act was passed in May 1916, with clocks being advanced by one hour on May 21 and turned back on October 1 of that year.
Willett died in 1915, before the Summer Time Act was enacted. Critics of the bi-annual clock changes argue that they disrupt sleep patterns, interfere with natural circadian rhythms, and cause general inconvenience. The British Sleep Society has previously voiced support for ending these seasonal adjustments, citing concerns for sleep health and the body's natural biological clock.