Facts about Daylight Savings Time: why do the clocks go back?

When do the clocks go back?

A teal coloured alarm clock surrounded by pumpkins

Clocks go back one hour on Sunday 25 October at 2am, marking the annual move from British Summer Time (BST) back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

It’s a very old tradition, dating back to 1916, but over the years, and especially in recent times on social media, there have been numerous myths and rumours surrounding the reasons why.

Does it mean darker mornings? Is it only done in the UK? And what on earth does it have to do with Coldplay’s Chris Martin?

CLAIM 1: The clocks going back makes mornings darker

A tweet claiming that the clocks going back will lead to darker mornings.

FALSE

It actually does the opposite! When the clocks go back we gain an ‘extra hour’, which maximises the amount of daylight we get, giving us brighter mornings. But this also means shorter days and earlier sunsets.

CLAIM 2: Daylight saving only happens in the UK

A tweet complaining about changing the clocks forward/back on the basis no other countries do it.

FALSE

Around 70 countries across the world change their clocks, mainly in Europe, most of North America, parts of South America and Australasia, all 27 EU countries, and the USA (though not in Hawaii and most of Arizona).

CLAIM 3: It was proposed by Chris Martin's great-great-grandfather

A tweet about the fact that daylight saving time 'invented' daylight saving time

TRUE

In the UK, the first serious proposal about Daylight Saving Time came in 1907 from builder William Willett… who also happens to be the great-great-grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin!

CLAIM 4: We change our clocks because of farmers

A tweet blaming farmers for the changing of the clocks

A farmer walking through a field to a tractor at sunset

FALSE

While this is a widely spread idea about the reason for the clocks changing, it’s actually false.

William Willett put forward the suggestion of moving the clocks forward during summertime (before being returned to normal in the winter) as a way to avoid the waste of additional daylight in the evenings.

Daylight Savings Time was introduced in 1916, to give people who do most of their work outside as much sunlight as possible to work in.

The act was passed in British parliament (shortly after being passed in Germany) during World War One, as a way to conserve energy by taking advantage of the increased daylight.

When do the clocks go forward again?

In the UK, the clocks go forward one hour at 1am on the last Sunday of March. This means the clocks will go forward again at 1am on Sunday 28 March 2027, putting us back to British Summer Time (BST).

Find out more about BST - and bust some viral myths - with our explainer about when the clocks go forward.

This article was updated in September 2026.

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