UK CLOCKS MOVE BACK ONE HOUR ON 25 OCTOBER

UK clocks will move back one hour at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026, ending British Summer Time. The change will reset clocks to 1am and return the country to Greenwich Mean Time. It will bring lighter mornings and darker evenings by the clock. People asleep during the change will gain an extra hour overnight. The UK sets clocks back on the last Sunday of October each year.

The change shifts when daylight falls against the time on a clock; it does not increase the amount of daylight. Most smartphones, computers and other internet-connected devices will update automatically, while manual clocks and watches need resetting. Days will continue to shorten towards the winter solstice in December, so mornings will become darker again. In 2025, clocks went back on 26 October. British Summer Time is due to return when clocks move forward on 28 March 2027.

The UK introduced seasonal clock changes during the First World War through the Summer Time Act 1916. The measure aimed to save fuel and support the war effort. Germany had introduced a clock change earlier that year. William Willett, a builder and horse rider, had proposed changing the clocks in 1907. The Royal Meteorological Society describes his proposal: “His solution was to advance the clocks by twenty minutes on each of four Sundays in April, then reverse them by the same amount on four Sundays in September.”