Leap Seconds Keep Clocks in Sync with Earth’s Rotation, but May Be Dropped
The draft would make UTC continuous and let it drift by as much as 3,600 seconds, or one hour, officials said.
- The General Conference on Weights and Measures will meet Oct. 13-15, 2026, to consider a resolution abolishing the leap second, with changes potentially beginning May 20, 2027.
- Since 1972, timekeepers have added 27 leap seconds to Coordinated Universal Time, though Earth has experienced unusually rapid rotation since about 2015, accelerating the need for change.
- Inserting leap seconds disrupts high-precision computer systems; Google and Meta use "smearing" to spread the extra second over time rather than adding it abruptly, yet both advocate abolishing it entirely.
- The proposed resolution would allow the difference between UTC and rotation-based time to grow as large as 3,600 seconds, effectively replacing the leap second with a "leap hour."
- If Earth keeps up its faster rotation, timekeepers might eventually need to introduce the first-ever negative leap second, for which no large-scale computer precedent exists, creating urgency for the resolution.
26 Articles
26 Articles
The Earth is spinning so fast that all clocks may have to skip a second for the first time. Scientists from all corners of the world are heading to Versailles to tackle a problem that has been compared to preparations for the millennium bug.
Measurement Systems: Earth Rotation Is Changing. This Poses a Problem for Computer Systems Worldwide
For the first time in history, it might be necessary to pull off the clocks a switching second instead of adding them. An expert body is considering a drastic step – which would decouple earth and space time from each other.
A single additional second can cause malfunctions in computer systems or energy supply. However, time and again, the International Earthrotation and Reference System Service (IERS) decides to change time. Experts demand that this be over now.
Leap seconds have helped keep clocks synchronized with Earth’s rotation, but their time may be over -- here’s why
If you think about leap years, it may seem like humans have a very odd way of measuring time. Sometimes, timekeepers even have to add extra seconds.
The Conversation
New Space EconomyLeap seconds have helped keep clocks synchronized with Earth’s rotation, but their time may be over – here’s why
Humans haven't always counted time down to the second. mrs/Moment via Getty ImagesYou’re probably used to the month of February having an extra day every four years, during the leap year. Timekeepers added that extra leap day because Earth completes one orbit around the Sun in about 365 and one-quarter days. If we didn’t add leap days, the equinoxes and solstices that mark the beginning of seasons would occur later, slowly shifting the days on w…
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