As the last Sunday in March 2026 arrives, millions across Europe—including residents of the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Malta—will set their clocks forward by one hour, marking the annual transition into daylight saving time. At precisely 1 a.m. GMT in the UK and Ireland, and 2 a.m. local time in the Netherlands and Malta, clocks will leap ahead, stealing an hour of precious sleep but ushering in the promise of longer, lighter evenings.
This yearly ritual, often remembered by the catchy phrase "spring forward, fall back," has roots that stretch back more than a century. According to BristolLive and The Independent, British Summer Time (BST) was first introduced in the UK in 1916 during the First World War, inspired by the need to conserve coal and make better use of available daylight. The Netherlands reintroduced the practice in 1977, aligning itself with neighboring countries as part of broader European agreements. Malta, too, participates, and from March 29, 2026, will be two hours ahead of GMT, as reported by Times of Malta.
For many, the immediate effect is a groggy Sunday morning—an hour lost from the weekend lie-in. Yet, as The Irish Times and The Independent point out, the payoff comes later: daylight will stretch further into the evening, with sunsets occurring an hour later and the prospect of brighter evenings lifting spirits. In London, by June, the sun will rise before 5 a.m. and set after 9 p.m., offering well over 16 hours of daylight. As spring progresses, sunrises get earlier, and the amount of daylight increases, marking the march toward the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.
The origins of this biannual clock change are as practical as they are curious. Before the adoption of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in the late 1800s, the UK operated on local solar times, leading to a patchwork of different clocks across towns and cities. According to BristolLive, this meant that, for example, Bristol was 10 minutes behind London, and Barrow lagged by nearly 13 minutes. The arrival of the railways demanded a unified approach, prompting the adoption of London Time, which eventually became GMT in 1880.
The modern concept of daylight saving was championed by British builder William Willett, who in 1907 published a pamphlet titled The Waste of Daylight. Willett, who was also the great-great-grandfather of Coldplay’s Chris Martin, noticed during early morning horse rides that much of the population was still asleep despite the available daylight. Though Willett died in 1915, a year before his idea became law, his legacy lives on every time the clocks change. As The Irish Times notes, the push to adopt daylight saving was ultimately driven by wartime necessity, with the policy designed to save fuel for light and heat.
Over the decades, the system has seen its share of tweaks and trials. During the Second World War, the UK adopted British Double Summer Time, moving clocks two hours forward in summer and retaining a one-hour shift in winter. From 1968 to 1971, the Harold Wilson government experimented with British Standard Time, keeping clocks forward all year, but the trial was discontinued after a free vote in the House of Commons. Ireland, too, observed a break from daylight saving between 1968 and 1972 but otherwise has kept to the practice since 1916.
Despite these adjustments, the core idea remains: shifting an hour of sunlight from the morning to the evening. The benefits, according to supporters like Irish MEP Seán Kelly, are substantial. "People love the longer evenings, the extra daylight and what we fondly refer to as the ‘grand stretch in the evenings’. It lifts the mood, it gets people outdoors and the benefits for everyone in terms of both mental and physical health are undeniable," Kelly told The Irish Times. Research and public sentiment seem to back this up. A 2024 YouGov poll cited by The Independent found that 59% of Britons would prefer to stay permanently on British Summer Time if the current system were scrapped, with younger people especially supportive of the lighter evenings.
However, not everyone is convinced. Critics point out that losing an hour of sleep can temporarily disrupt body clocks, affect concentration and alertness, and lead to increased fatigue, as noted by NL Times. Darker mornings may also make early travel less safe, particularly for schoolchildren and commuters. Farmers, often thought to be the beneficiaries of the change, were never consulted on the policy and sometimes find that the shift unsettles animals and disrupts routines. As The Independent clarifies, the idea that daylight saving was introduced for farmers is a myth.
The debate over the future of daylight saving time has intensified in recent years. In 2019, the European Parliament voted to end the biannual clock changes, with the intention that member states would select a permanent time zone. Yet, as of March 2026, no further steps have been taken to implement this reform, and the twice-yearly ritual persists across most of Europe. Irish minister of state Frank Feighan highlighted the complexity of making a change without neighboring countries moving in unison, especially given the close ties between Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the UK.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world takes a patchwork approach. While most of Europe and North America observe daylight saving (with North America having already made the switch in mid-March), countries such as China, India, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, and South Africa do not change their clocks at all. Australia and New Zealand, heading toward their winter, will adjust their clocks in April.
In practical terms, the clock change is now less of a household hassle than in years past. Most smartphones, computers, and modern cars update automatically, sparing users the tedious task of resetting each device. However, as NL Times and Times of Malta remind us, older devices like alarm clocks, ovens, and car radios may still require manual adjustment. For those struggling to remember which way the clocks move, the phrase "spring forward, fall back" remains a handy mnemonic.
As the debate over daylight saving’s future continues, what’s clear is that, for now, the tradition endures. Whether you relish the lighter evenings or dread the lost hour of sleep, the collective shift marks a shared experience across nations—one that connects history, science, and daily life in a single, subtle turn of the clock.