When do the clocks go back and why is this year significant?

The clocks change twice a year

Be ready for the time change (Getty)

While the clocks change twice a year, there is typically confusion over why.

Read on for all the information about the upcoming change.

When do the clocks change?

This year the change will happen on 30 October at 2am.

Are they going backwards or forwards?

Backwards, meaning the UK will revert back to Greenwich Mean Time. There will also be an hour less sunlight in the evenings.

Is there anything special about this year?

This is the 100th time the clocks have been wound back in the UK.

When and why did it start?

In the UK, daylight savings time was officially introduced following the The Summer Time Act 1916. The law followed a campaign by builder William Willett - the grandfather of Coldplay singer Chris Martin - who was a lifelong advocate for Daylight Savings Time (DST).

He believed in the summer it would save on energy costs and enable people to have more recreation time outdoors.

“Everyone appreciates the long light evenings,” Mr Willet wrote in 1907.

“Everyone laments their shrinkage as the days grow shorter, and nearly everyone has given utterance to a regret that the clear bright light of early mornings, during spring and summer months, is so seldom seen or used.”

However, the need for increased labour during the First World War is thought to be the main reason the government entered DST into legislation.