BriefTea
Every story in sixty words
Get the free app no ads · no paywallExplained in plain English
British Summer Time was introduced in 1916 to make better use of daylight hours and save coal during World War I. The idea was to shift an hour of daylight from the early morning to the evening. While many countries adopted it, most of the world now doesn't observe daylight saving.
Stories that explain this
UK Clocks Go Back an Hour This SundayRelated explainers
What changes for the economy? Could we stop changing clocks? Has the time always been GMT? Why do clocks change? When do clocks change in the UK? How accurate are atomic clocks? Why do actors change weight? How do 'aging clocks' work?The full catalogue
Browse every card filed under W →We would like to count visits and see which links bring readers here. That means storing a random ID in your browser. No cookies, no ads, no profile. How it works.