EACH March Brits need to change their clocks as we spring forward an hour.
We explain what you can expect when we switch from GMT and head to British Summer Time.
As the amount of daylight we enjoy each day lengthens, Brits switch over from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to British Summer Time (BST).
Clocks go forward each March with Brits all losing an hour’s kip.
In 2020 it’s happening on March 29 at 2am.
But beware, your smartphone and other internet-connected devices should automatically update but many clocks in your home and car will not.
The clocks will then go back by an hour on October 25, 2020.
An easy way to remember whether the clocks are going backwards or forwards is by remembering the easy saying “spring forward, fall back”.
The EU wants to stop changing the time twice a year.
In September 2018, the European Commission published a proposal to end seasonal time changes across the continent, and if it becomes law we could stop changing as soon as next year.
Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker said: “Millions responded and [they] believe that in future, summer time should be year-round, and that’s what will happen.”
With Britain poised to leave the EU, it is not clear whether they would follow the decision.
British Summer Time came into existence with the Summer Time Act that was passed by Parliament in 1916.
Germany was the first country to adopt the plan on April 30, 1916, and on May 21, Britain followed suit, during the height of the First World War.
The campaign which led to the creation of BST and Daylight Savings Time (DST) was started by William Willett in 1907 in a bid to stop people wasting valuable hours of light in the summer months.
By setting the clocks back in winter, Brits get an earlier sunrise and earlier sunset.
In summer the sun rises and sets one hour later than it would without daylight saving.
In a pamphlet called The Waste of Daylight, Willett suggested clocks should be advanced by 80 minutes over four stages in April, and reversed the same way in September.
Supporters at the time of the proposal argued the scheme would save energy by reducing domestic coal consumption.
They also said it would increase supplies available for the huge manufacturing cost of the war effort.
It has been in place ever since – despite criticism from some groups.
Yes – the internal system is wired to recognise all clock changes and reset itself accordingly.
The same goes for iPads, Macs and Apple watches.
Check you have your Date and Time settings for Set Automatically turned on.
All smartphones should follow this rule.
