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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Alexander Smail

When the UK clocks go back 2022 and why we do it every year explained

Now that November is almost here, it's time for the clocks to go back by one hour.

This weekend, British Summer Time (BST) will come to an end and the clocks will be reset. It means the sun will set earlier and the days will be shorter.

June 21 was the longest day of the year, and the days have been shortening ever since then. The sun is currently setting just before 6pm, but will continue to get earlier as we head into winter.

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Once the clocks go back, we will lose an additional 60 minutes of light at the end of the day. While this will disappoint many people, there is a logical reason why the clocks change twice a year.

Here is everything you need to know about when the clocks will go back this weekend.

When do the clocks go back in 2022?

Each year, the clocks move back by an hour on the final Sunday of October. This Sunday, on October 30, this will occur at 2am.

After this point, time will revert to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Most devices that have a digital clock will automatically make the change, but analogue clocks and watches will need to be manually set.

Will we get an extra hour of sleep?

One of the good things about the clocks shifting back is that you will have an extra hour of sleep on Saturday night.

When you wake up on October 30, it will feel like an hour later than the actual time. So, if you normally naturally wake up at 8am, it will actually be 7am on Sunday morning - giving you an extra hour in bed.

Why do the clocks go back?

The clocks need to shift back every autumn to GMT. The period between the end of March and the end of October is known as British Summer Time (BST).

While it may seem unnecessary, there is actually a very important reason this happens. The concept was pioneered by a man called William Willett in order to maximise the amount of daylight that people see.

In order to get people to experience as much daylight as possible during the winter — and therefore save on energy — he put forth a campaign to move clocks forward by one hour in the summer and back by one hour during the winter.

The UK Government didn't implement the plans until 1916 during World War I — one year after Willett died — though his legacy lives on. He is also the great-great-grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.

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