Why do the clocks go back - and what did Coldplay's Chris Martin's great-great-grandfather have to do with it?

"Every year clocks go back an hour at 2am on the last Sunday of October. This year the clocks will go back on October 26 2024. When the clocks change, so does the UK's time zone; it switches from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time. It is also known as moving from Daylight Saving Time to Daylight Standard Time."

"Turning the clocks back moves an hour of sunlight from the evenings to the mornings because sunrises and sunsets occur an hour earlier. The shift marks the build-up to the darkest day of the year known as the winter solstice, which is followed by the latest sunrise. As Ireland and the UK builds towards the winter solstice, sunrises start later, and daily sunlight decreases."

Clocks go back one hour at 2am on the last Sunday of October, returning the UK from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time; in 2024 this occurs on October 26. Turning the clocks back shifts an hour of sunlight from evenings to mornings because sunrises and sunsets occur an hour earlier. The change marks the build-up to the winter solstice, producing later sunrises and decreasing daily daylight. In December the sun can rise as late as 8.06am and London may have fewer than eight hours of sunlight for much of the month. The idea was proposed in Britain by a builder. The belief that the change benefited farmers is incorrect; it disrupts farm schedules and can unsettle animals, and dairy farmers report that changing clocks upsets cows.

Read at Irish Independent