UK: cold weather puts an end to British summer time | News from the United Kingdom

A cold snap hit the UK, marking the compelling end of the British summer time (BST), with snow and ice covering part of the country on Saturday.

Gritters were sent to parts of the country Friday night for their first race of the season and the Met Office issued yellow warnings of snow and ice in northern Scotland and ice in Northern Ireland .

Forecasters warned of ice and slush on some mountain routes and disturbance of railways and roads. The snow can cover the Pennine Hills in northern England, Snowdonia in northwestern Wales, the North York Moors and the Scottish Highlands.

The eastern part of the south is likely to be hit by hail, showers and strong winds throughout the day Saturday, with a risk of thunderstorms. And even in southern areas, where temperatures are expected to reach about 45 ° F (7 ° C), the wind chill means it will be several degrees cold, forecasters said.

Bonnie Diamond, a forecaster at the Met Office, said, "We have had a mild month of October and a warm start to the fall, so it will be a big change for everyone over the weekend. end. It is definitely time to take out the warm winter clothes.

However, the colder mornings will be at least clearer. The clocks return at Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) at 2 am Sunday morning, allowing sunrise an hour earlier.

This is happening as the practice of advanced hour is threatened throughout Europe as scientists and politicians are increasingly concerned about the impact on the human sleep cycle. Although the fall change is well tolerated by most people, it was found that the transition from spring to daylight saving time in summer caused symptoms similar to jet lag in some people.

Last year, the European Parliament decided to reconsider the summer time, after a German survey in 2016 revealed that "the process of adapting to the change of Time could be harder for some people than had been assumed in previous years.

The report called for further research, but before that, Lithuania asked the European Commission to act. A public consultation revealed that 80% of people were supportive of the removal of clock changes, and the European Commission has since recommended to member states to do so.

In many European countries, summer time was introduced after the 1973 oil crisis. In Great Britain, this dates back to the 1916 Summer Time Act.