Date clocks go forward as sun to set after 8pm again

In just a number of few weeks, the clocks will “spring forward”, signalling the start of the end of gloomy winter evenings as we move towards the warmer months.

After what has felt like an extended winter for many, countless people are looking forward to the additional evening sunlight.

Across the UK, the clocks leap forward by one hour at 1am on Sunday, March 29, occurring a day sooner than the previous year, and this marks the commencement of British Summer Time (BST).

The clocks subsequently return to standard time on the final Sunday in October.

Straight after the time change, certain regions of the UK will experience sunsets beyond 8pm, including County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland.

However, those in London, will have to wait another 17 days, until April 17, for a sunset after 8pm to take place.

In Edinburgh, this will occur around April 6, while Cardiff can expect it on April 10, and Birmingham approximately April 12, according to the latest forecasts.

Why do the clocks move forward in the UK?

The tradition of beginning BST by advancing the clocks in spring traces back to its implementation in 1916.

The original idea of maximising daylight usage was initially proposed by American inventor Benjamin Franklin in 1784 and subsequently examined in a pamphlet entitled “The Waste of Daylight” by British writer William Willett in 1907.

In 1916, a year after Willett’s death, Germany became the first country to introduce daylight saving time. The UK, along with several other nations involved in the First World War (1914-1918), quickly adopted the practice, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich.