Winter time arrives earlier than usual this year. On the night between Saturday and Sunday, 25 October, at 3:00 the clocks go back to 2:00. You get one hour more sleep - and you lose one hour of afternoon light.

The date is not random and it has not been changed. The switch always falls on the last Sunday in October, and this year that Sunday comes early. For comparison, last year the clocks went back on 26 October, and the year before on the 27th. The 25th of October is the earliest date for this change since 2014.

What it means in practice

Mornings will be brighter for early risers. Afternoons and evenings will darken noticeably sooner - something everyone feels around the middle of November, when leaving work already looks like night.

Smartphones and most digital devices will adjust themselves. Wall clocks, the clock in the car and older electronics need a hand.

The abolition that never happens

Back in 2019 the European Parliament backed scrapping the seasonal clock change. Seven years on, the member states still have no final agreement - so the clocks keep turning twice a year.

How little agreement is expected is best shown by one thing: in March this year the European Commission published an official schedule for summer and winter time all the way to 2031. The winter changes are already written out - 31 October 2027, 29 October 2028, 28 October 2029, 27 October 2030 and 26 October 2031.

In other words, a reform voted through seven years ago now has a timetable for the next five. The next switch to summer time is on 28 March 2027.