We’re heading back to Greenwich Mean Time (Picture: Getty Images)
The clocks change every year, although it catches many of us by surprise.
The time on your smartphone and laptop will usually change automatically, but you will have to manually adjust the time on your oven, car, and any clocks on your walls.
Currently, we’re using British Summer Time (BST) – which means that the next change will see the clocks go back, moving us into Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
But with autumn now upon us and winter soon approaching, when exactly do the clocks change?
Here’s what you need to know, so you can sleep easy.
When do the clocks go back in October 2022?
The UK’s clocks officially go back on Sunday, October 30 2022, one day before Halloween.
You can look forward to an extra hour in bed (Picture: Getty Images)
It’ll give you an extra hour in bed, just before things get spooky.
From then on, we will officially be back on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) through autumn and winter.
The clocks falling back also means that nights will start to get darker even faster, cumulating in the longest night of the year: Wednesday, December 21 2022.
When will the clocks spring forward in 2023?
In spring 2023, the clocks will ‘spring forward’ an hour.
That means we’ll lose an hour in bed, but we’ll start to notice the evenings get a bit lighter.
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The switch will take place on Sunday, March 26 2023 – so note the date for your calendar.
From then on, we’ll be on British Summer Time (BST) once more. So you know, BST is also sometimes displayed as GMT+1.
Why do we change the clocks twice a year?
Though there is no actual scientific reason for it, the clocks get changed to make the most of daylight during the seasons.
The idea was originally suggested by Benjamin Franklin back in 1784 – when, during a trip to Paris, he pointed out that if the locals altered their sleep schedule and got up earlier when it was lighter they could save on lamp oil and candles.
The clock will spring forward in, well, spring (Picture: Getty Images)
Builder William Willett – who was the great-grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin – was also in favour of changing the clocks, publishing his thoughts on the matter in the 1907 leaflet The Waste Of Daylight in which he encouraged folks to get up earlier.
However, the actual changing of the clocks wasn’t introduced until the spring of 1916 by the German government and army during World War One, in a bid to save and conserve energy by relying on daylight hours.
Other governments soon followed suit – including the UK – and we’ve done it ever since.
Britain also adopted Double Daylight Savings Time during World War Two – putting the clocks two hours ahead – although this reverted back to the usual one hour ahead in 1947.
The country also experimented with leaving the clocks on a British Summer Time setting (aka GMT+1) during 1968 and 1971, but reverted back to GMT after the dark mornings in winter proved unpopular.
Do the clocks change elsewhere across the world?
Not every country has daylight saving time, but around 70 countries have some form of it.
Whether or not clocks change differs across the globe (Picture: Getty Images)
Many places in Europe, North America, and Australasia change their clocks.
Some countries in South America do. For example: Chile and Paraguay do, but Brazil and Argentina don’t. African countries don’t change their clocks, nor do most countries in Asia.
Not every country that does change their clocks does it on the same date, mind. Case in point: clocks in the US don’t go back until November 6 this year.
Most countries in Europe will be changing their clocks in line with the UK on October, though.
For a full list of daylight saving clock changes across the globe in 2022, visit timeanddate.com.
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Never forget: Spring forward, fall back.