When do the clocks go back in 2020? Date and time when they change and when British Summer Time will end

Soon the nights will be getting darker earlier, temperatures will drop and the leaves will start to change colour.

For those of us who love wearing jumpers and cosy weather it is arriving just in time.

The coming arrival of autumn also means we are only a few weeks away from Halloween and Bonfire Night.

In a year of upheaval and unexpected twists of fate, the slow march of time through the seasons provides a sense of normalcy.

But with the falling of the leaves comes the changing of the clocks.

Here’s what you need to know:

When will the clocks change?

In 2020, the clocks will change again on Sunday, October 25.

Do they go back or forwards?

When the clocks changing in October they will go back, after going forward in March.

It means that you will get an extra hour in bed.

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What time will the clocks change?

The clocks will go back at 2am on October 25 – so you will need to remember that when you wake up.

Fortunately modern digital devices usually automatically update and change time accordingly.

However if you have any clocks or devices, then you will have to put them back manually.

Why do the clocks change?

In the spring, when the clocks go forward we switch to something called British Summer Time (BST) – also known as daylight savings time.

This was first introduced in 1916 after a campaign by builder William Willett.

Originally the plan was to move the clocks forward by 80 minutes, in 20-minute weekly steps on Sundays in April – and then do the reverse in September.

When the clocks go back, the UK reverts to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Could daylight savings time come to an end?

After conducting a public survey, the European Commission has proposed to put an end to daylight savings time – however the plan is still waiting the approval of the Council of the European Union and any decision on that has been pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However there are currently no plans for the UK to scrap British Summer Time (BST).

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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