As the darker mornings set in and the evenings become shorter it signals the time for the clocks to ‘fall back’.
On Sunday people can look forward to an extra hour as the clocks change in line with daylight savings.
Many choose to have an extra hour in bed while others use the time to get through errands at home.
MORE: When do the clocks go back? And how to prepare your mind and body for the change
Here’s everything you need to know.
When do the clocks go back?
Every year, the clocks change on the last weekend in March and October.
This year the clocks go back by one hour at 2am on Sunday 27 October.
Therefore, sunrise and sunset will be about one hour earlier than than Saturday, meaning there will be more light in the morning and less light in the evening.
An easy way to remember which way the clocks change is to think of the seasons. In spring the clocks ‘spring forward’, while in autumn they ‘fall back’.
Do I need to change the time on my phone?
Phones will automatically apply the change as will most electronic devices that connect to WiFi.
However alarm clocks, car radios and other devices without an internet connection will need to be adjusted manually.
Do I get an extra hour at the bar?
If you are planning on a night out this weekend don’t expect an extra hour on the dancefloor.
The clock change has no impact on bar or nightclub opening hours.
A statement from Hospitality Ulster, a leading trading body for the sector in the north, said: “The beginning or end of British Summer Time is to be ignored for the purpose of permitted hours under the licencing (Northern Ireland) order 1996.”
Why do we have time changes?
Daylight saving, or summer time, is a mechanism to make the most of increased summer daylight hours in the northern hemisphere.
The first clock change was introduced by the German government in 1916 during the First World War as a means of saving electricity with more daylight hours.
Many European governments followed suit, including Britain, and British Summer Time was born, with the current system in place since 1971.
What other countries have daylight savings time?
As it stands under EU law, the clocks in all member states change at the same time.
Meanwhile areas of Canada and the United states that observe daylight savings will go back an hour on the first Sunday of November.
As we enter darker nights and colder weather Australia has already entered their summer.
This means as we fall back New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory have already turned their clocks forward one hour at 2am on the first Sunday in October. They then go back an hour at 3am on the first Sunday of April.
Meanwhile Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory don’t observe daylight saving, so they won’t gain or lose an hour.
What is the shortest day of the year?
As the clocks change this weekend it also signals the steady approach of shorter days and longer nights until the winter solstice on 21 December.
The winter solstice is commonly known as the shortest day of the year, a date marking the 24-hour period with the fewest daylight hours.
From then the days grow longer as we look forward to when the clocks ‘spring’ forward in March.
