Timekeepers vote to scrap leap second system

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 15 Oct, 14:32 · Archive

The International Bureau of Weights and Measures is voting on Thursday to scrap the leap second, which has been added to global clocks 27 times since 1972.

The International Bureau of Weights and Measures is voting on Thursday near Paris on whether to abolish the leap second. Since 1972, a total of 27 leap seconds have been added to Coordinated Universal Time, the global standard maintained by ultra-precise atomic clocks, most recently on 31 December 2016. The leap second was introduced because although clocks are based on atomic timekeeping, the Earth's rotation is independent and gradually slowing, so a leap second periodically synchronises global clocks with Earth's actual rotation.

However, implementing leap seconds has become problematic. The practice causes disruption to financial markets, data centres, telecommunications, global navigation systems and grid synchronisation, which rely on precise and continuous time synchronisation. Tech giants including Amazon, Google and Meta have campaigned for the leap second to be scrapped, describing it as a problematic quirk.

Scientists propose replacing the leap second system with a leap hour instead. This would require updating global timekeeping far less frequently – once every thousand years compared to every couple of years – and would be less disruptive to modern infrastructure. The National Physical Laboratory in the UK maintains atomic clocks used in the global timekeeping system.

How it is being reported

• Timekeeping is about to change forever‘Devastating’ time quirk of leap seconds is about to be abolishedIndependent Tech · 15 Oct, 14:20
• Clock ticking for leap second: Why timekeeping could change foreverTimekeepers add a leap second occasionally to keep our clocks and the Earth's rotation in tune. That could now change.Al Jazeera · 15 Oct, 08:16

In this story: International Bureau of Weights and Measures · National Physical Laboratory · Amazon · Google · Meta · Paris

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