When are the clocks going back in the UK?

Britain braces for winter with the loss of one hour's daylight impending

The UK's biannual clock changes are more challenging for some than others. Getty

People in Britain are bracing for darker evenings with the cogs of the nation's clocks cranking up to go back an hour.

Why clocks change

More than 100 years ago, at the end of the 19th century, the International Meridian Conference voted to make Greenwich Mean Time the universal time standard in a move designed to assist industry.

The problem with permanent GMT was it failed to address seasonal light changes.

In Britain, a pamphlet was produced called “The Waste of Daylight” which suggested maximising the hours of sunlight in the evening would improve physical and mental health, and provide more evening leisure time.

The author of the document and godfather of the time zone debate, William Willet, proposed the plus one-hour summertime many have become accustomed to today.

His case was rejected by the government of the day but the idea was resurrected during the First World War, when it was decided more daylight hours would help to conserve coal.

The Summer Time Act was passed in 2016, although sadly too late for Willet, who had died of influenza the year before.

This link gives more details on why clocks change in the UK.

When will the clocks go back in the UK?

The second of the UK's biannual clock changes waves goodbye to daylight savings hours and hello to GMT.

Usually the winding back signals the start of the colder and darker winter months. However, with summer-like temperatures permeating the UK in a grim nod to climate change, it is only the latter that will be experienced immediately.

The clocks will go back one hour at 2am in the UK (5am in the UAE) on Sunday, October 30.

What will the new time difference be between UK and UAE?

The new time difference between the UK and UAE will be four hours, with Gulf Standard time four hours ahead of GMT.