When do the clocks go back in October 2024?
16 October 2024, 14:17
What date do the clocks go back in October 2024? As UK residents officially get ready to welcome the darker evenings, here's everything you need to know you the hour time change happening this month.
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Autumn is here, the temperatures are getting chillier and the chances of any heatwave are pretty much gone which means only one thing - we're just weeks away from changing the clocks back in the UK to officially mark the start of winter.
A process British people carry out twice a year - once in the spring and again in the fall - we change the time, either forwards or back, for just one hour, so we can make the most of the daylight hours.
So as we get to the colder end of the year and enter October, we gain one extra hour on the Sunday the clocks change as they go back 60 minutes.
Here's the date, time and exactly why we change the clocks in the UK.
When do the clocks change in the UK in 2024?
In October 2024, the clocks will officially go back by one hour on Sunday 27th giving us extra time to fill that day. This also means your mornings and evenings will be darker, officially marking the start of cosy season.
If you always struggle to remember when and how the clocks change, there's a simple phrase to help you remember: "spring forward, fall back”.
Each year, the date of which the clocks change will alter slightly as this switch is three days earlier than in 2023. This is because it always happens on the last Sunday of October.
The clocks went forward by the hour on March 31st this year.
- READ MORE: When will Earth have two moons in September and will it be visible?
- READ MORE: Why October's 'Hunter's Moon' is one of the most special of 2024
What time do the clocks go backwards in October?
This is a process that always happens in the middle of the night at 2am.
Any device in your home connected to the internet, such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and TVs will automatically change.
However, alarm clocks, car radios and other devices may need to be changed manually.
Why do clocks change in the UK?
The idea of moving the clocks was invented by a New Zealand entomologist named George Vincent Hudson in 1895.
It was first introduced in the UK by the government during the First World War in 1916 to save coal usage and make the most of natural light.
All European countries, except for Belarus and Iceland, now use daylight saving time during the winter months, switching their time on the same night as the UK.
France and Spain - that are on GMT+1 - go back at 3am local time (2am in the UK), meaning the UK always remains an hour behind.
