When do the clocks change in 2024? Date, time and why the clock goes back

11 September 2024, 18:32

UK residents are getting ready to wave goodbye to summer 2024 and officially welcome in the colder and darker months so when do the clocks go back?

Autumn is drawing in, the temperatures are getting chillier and the chances of a September heatwave are dwindling which means only one thing - we're just weeks away from changing the clocks in the UK.

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, we gain one extra hour on the Sunday the clocks change as they go back 60 minutes.

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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: UK weather: Is there going to be a heatwave in September?
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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.