Clocks go forward tonight at 2am, marking the beginning of summertime and longer days ahead.
At 2am on Sunday, clocks will instead read 3am as daylight savings time kicks off. Malta will be two hours ahead of GMT.
Despite the initial loss of an hour’s sleep on the actual night itself, for many, the prospect of brighter evenings is a welcome boost.
Those who find it hard to remember which way the clocks will change find the phrase “spring forward, fall back” to be a reminder. In spring, clocks go forward, while in autumn – or fall in the US – clocks go backward.
There was a time, just before the COVID pandemic, when some countries were considering doing away with daylight savings, with the European Parliament voting to end it in 2019.
But no further steps were taken to make the change.
Many devices – including phones, tablets and laptops – nowadays reflect the time change automatically. However, some digital clocks on devices such as alarms or thermostats may not necessarily shift by themselves.