Clocks Change 2019: What time do the clocks go forward tonight? Do we get less sleep?
THE clocks are moving forward by one hour tonight - but what time does British Summer Time (BST) begin and does it mean we will all lose an hour’s sleep?
Met Office weather: UK to BASK in high spring temperatures
The weekend weather saw predicted highs of 19C on Saturday making it feel like spring is finally here. And that would be correct as British Summer Time (BST) officially arrives tonight, signalled by the clocks moving forward. This year’s move to daylight saving time, better known as BST in the UK, coincides with Mother’s Day in the UK. The clocks shift always occurs on the last weekend in March, when we move from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to BST.
This year’s Mothering Sunday is on March 31 - the moveable feast is held three weeks before Easter Sunday in line with Lent.
What time do the clocks go forward tonight? Do we get less sleep?
BST 2019 officially starts at 1am on Sunday, March 31.
Unfortunately, this does mean we all lose an hour’s sleep as we wind our clocks one hour ahead.
The easiest way to remember is by using the phrase “Spring Forward - Fall Back”, a reminder that clocks also go back in the autumn.
Although the bad news is that we will all get 60 minutes less sleep, we will see more daylight in the evenings from tomorrow.
You will not need to change your mobile devices as they will automatically update themselves.
However, you will need to wind forward manual clocks and electronic devices not linked to the internet.
Examples include clocks on your ovens and microwaves.
Why do we change the clocks?
Daylight Saving Time (DST) is a tradition marked by most countries in the Northern Hemisphere - but not all of them.
British Summer Time (BST) was introduced by Parliament in 1916 but the idea was dreamed up by Surrey-born builder William Willett years earlier.
In 2007, Mr Willet published a pamphlet called “The Waste of Daylight” after taking an early horse ride and noting how many blinds were still down.
His tireless campaigning to change the clocks eventually won him the support of MP Robert Pearce, who then tried to persuade his peers of the idea.
But it was not until two years into the First World War when the idea finally caught on after Germany had already moved their clocks to save on coal production.
Sadly Mr Willett died of flu in 1915 so not got to see his idea come to fruition.