leap second

The International Bureau of Weights and Measures has decided to stop adding leap seconds to Coordinated Universal Time, ending a decades-old practice of occasionally inserting an extra second to keep atomic clocks aligned with Earth's rotation. The change ends the disruptions that leap seconds have caused for computer systems and networks worldwide.

Metrologists have voted to abolish the leap second, the occasional one-second adjustment added since 1972 to keep atomic clocks in sync with Earth's slightly irregular rotation. The change will redefine how the world keeps time, phasing out an adjustment that has long complicated computer and telecom systems. Observers are weighing the technical fallout for infrastructure that depends on precise timekeeping.