leap second

A global decision is underway on whether to abolish the leap second, the occasional one-second adjustment added to Coordinated Universal Time to keep clocks in sync with Earth's rotation. Metrologists and tech companies warn the adjustment risks technological chaos, and authorities are weighing whether to change the timekeeping standard for good.

Metrologists are preparing to vote on abolishing the leap second, the occasional one-second adjustment added to Coordinated Universal Time since 1972 to keep clocks aligned with Earth's slowing rotation. The change would end a practice long criticised by tech companies and engineers, who say irregular adjustments cause glitches in software and satellite systems.

Metrologists are set to vote on eliminating the leap second, the extra second periodically added to Coordinated Universal Time to keep clocks aligned with Earth's gradually slowing rotation. Critics say the irregular adjustments disrupt computing and communications systems, while reports suggest the change could eventually require a leap hour in several centuries.

An international timekeeping body meeting in France is expected to abolish the leap second, ending a practice used for over 50 years to keep atomic clocks aligned with Earth's rotation. Officials plan to let clocks gradually drift out of sync with the planet, a change driven by the difficulty and disruption of inserting leap seconds into global systems. Scientists and technologists are debating what the long-term divergence will mean.

News outlets in Sweden report that Earth is rotating slightly faster than before, prompting discussion about scrapping the leap second – the extra second occasionally added to atomic clocks to keep them aligned with Earth's rotation. The potential removal of the so-called 'shot second' is being debated as scientists track the planet's quickening spin and its implications for global timekeeping.

Scientists have agreed to do away with the leap second, the occasional extra second added to keep atomic clocks in sync with Earth's rotation, replacing it with a much larger leap hour correction. The change, discussed among global timekeeping bodies, aims to spare technology systems the disruptions that leap seconds have caused to computers and networks.

Scientists and standards bodies are weighing the end of the leap second, the occasional one-second adjustment added to Coordinated Universal Time since 1972 to keep atomic clocks aligned with Earth's gradually slowing rotation. Observers note that irregular insertions have become disruptive for computing and navigation systems, prompting growing support for redefining how global timekeeping handles the discrepancy.

Timekeepers are weighing the end of the leap second, the extra second occasionally added to Coordinated Universal Time to keep clocks in step with Earth's slowing rotation. Metrologists and tech companies argue the adjustment causes disruptions to computers and networks, and a decision on scrapping it could reshape global timekeeping forever.

Timekeepers are moving to abolish the leap second, the occasional one-second adjustment added to Coordinated Universal Time since 1972 to keep clocks aligned with Earth's rotation. Critics say the unscheduled tweaks, used by computer systems worldwide, cause more technical trouble than they solve, and metrologists have agreed to phase them out in favour of a smoother, longer-term correction.

International timekeeping authorities are preparing to vote this week on abolishing the leap second, the practice of occasionally adjusting clocks back by one second to keep atomic time aligned with Earth's rotation. The proposed change would end decades of corrections that have caused disruption to computer systems, and observers expect the motion to pass amid growing support from tech companies and metrology bodies.