When do clocks go forward and when is the first day of spring?

THE mornings are lighter, the weather is warmer and the daffodils have come out. But when does spring officially start? When do the clocks go forward?

When do the clocks go forward?

Britain's clocks will go forward at 1am on the last Sunday of this month, tomorrow.

The changing of the clocks means an hour less in bed. It also marks the start of more the daylight in the evenings, but less in the mornings.

The summer months, when the clocks are an hour ahead, are known as British Summer Time or Daylight Saving Time.

When the clocks go back on October 30, the UK will return to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).  

Why do the clocks change in Britain?

The idea of setting the clocks ahead was first suggested in an essay by Benjamin Franklin in 1784.

Over a century later, Englishman William Willett campaigned for the changing of the clocks and published a pamphlet, called the Waste of Daylight, in 1907.

Britain first adopted British Summer Time during World War One in order to save fuel by reducing the need for artificial light.

When does spring start?

Tuesday March 1 was the first day of spring, according to meteorological calendar which is based on the weather.

Under this system, each of the four seasons have three months with spring lasting from the start of March to the end of May.

But the first day of spring is not until Sunday March 20, according to the astronomical calendar based on the Earth's orbit of the sun.

On this date, known as the spring equinox, both day and night are the same length.

The equinox is an astronomical event in which the sun crosses the celestial equator — the projection of the Earth's equator into space.