British Summer Time: When do the clocks go forward in 2024 and why?

It's that time of year again when the clocks go forward in the UK.

The clocks normally go forward an hour on the last Sunday of March. This year, that's on 31 March.

When the clocks change like this, it means we are moving from Greenwich Mean Time to British Summer Time (BST).

This means on Sunday if you get up at your usual time you will have lost an hour's sleep.

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When do the clocks go back in 2024?

This year the clocks go back again on Sunday 27 October, which is the last Sunday of the month.

Do I need to put my phone back an hour?

Most smart phones, computers, and other devices connected to the internet will update the time automatically.

But if you have a watch or clock that isn't digital you may need to change the time yourself.

Why do we change the clocks?

Benjamin Franklin, who first came up with the idea of moving the clocks according to daylight

An American politician and inventor called Benjamin Franklin first came up with the idea while in Paris in 1784.

He suggested that if people got up earlier, when it was lighter, then it would save on candles.

But why did the UK start daylight savings time?

But it arrived in the UK after Coldplay singer Chris Martin's great-great-grandfather, a builder called William Willett, thought it was a good idea too.

In 1907, he published a leaflet called The Waste of Daylight, encouraging people to get out of bed earlier.

Willett was a keen golfer and he got cross when his games would be cut short because the sun went down and there wasn't enough light to carry on playing.

Coldplay singer Chris Martin's great-great-grandfather is responsible for introducing the idea of moving the clocks in the UK

When did we start changing our clocks?

The idea of moving the clocks forwards and backwards was discussed by the government in 1908, but many people didn't like it so it wasn't made a law.

Willett spent his life trying to convince people that it was a good idea, but it was only introduced in the UK in 1916 - a year after he died.

William Willett used to get cross when it got too dark for him to carry on playing golf

It was actually first introduced by the Germans in World World One, just before the UK followed suit.

During World War Two, the UK used what was called British Double Summer Time (BDST), when the clocks were ahead by an extra hour during the summer. But this didn't last for very long.

William Willett died before he his idea was introduced in the UK

Now, the UK's clocks always go back by one hour on the last Sunday in October and forward by one hour on the last Sunday in March.

Moving clocks like this is now done in some other countries across the world, but many don't do this.

What is meant by daylight savings time?

You might have also heard of Daylight Savings Time - which is just another term for changing the clocks to get more sunlight in the evenings in summer - so that darkness falls at a later time.

Should we stop putting the clocks forward and back?

Not everyone thinks that changing the clocks the way that we do is a good idea

Lots of people have different opinions about whether we should change our clocks like this.

Some think having British Summer Time is a good thing because it saves energy by making better use of natural daylight, and helps to reduce traffic accidents.

Others don't like it because they argue that it doesn't actually save any energy, and it can make it darker when children are going to school in the morning, which can be dangerous.

They also think changing clocks and time in this way isn't very good for our health.

What do you think about changing the clocks twice a year?

Let us know in the comments.