Timekeepers vote to scrap leap second, replacing it with leap hour
–
Neutral summary
The General Conference on Weights and Measures, meeting in Versailles from October 14 to 16, voted to abolish the leap second, ending a practice in place since 1972. From May 20, 2027, atomic clocks will no longer be adjusted to match Earth's rotation, and the difference between UTC and astronomical time will be allowed to grow to one hour — a gap scientists estimate will take about a thousand years to accumulate. Over the decades, 27 leap seconds were added to keep the two time systems within 0.9 seconds of each other. The corrections caused recurring problems for computer systems: in 2012, a single leap second crashed Reddit and LinkedIn. Earth's rotation has also accelerated, and by 2029 a negative leap second — a subtraction never attempted before — might have been needed, with unpredictable consequences for thousands of devices. Delegates from 69 countries approved the change, advancing it by eight years from the originally planned 2035, according to El Mundo, which cited risks to time-synchronisation systems and rapid technological evolution. Atlantico notes that the reform prioritises the needs of the digital industry, potentially complicating the work of astronomers.
How it was framed
Outlets: 31. Countries: 10. Facts in the shared core: 6.
Publication timeline
-
·
Le Monde (outlet profile)
Mesure du temps : vers l’abandon de la seconde intercalaire, liée au ralentissement de la rotation de la Terre. Ces secondes supplémentaires, ajoutées de façon épisodique depuis 1972, peuvent perturber les systèmes info…
-
·
The Register (outlet profile)
Leap seconds face judgment day as time lords prepare to vote. Proposal would let UTC drift an hour from Earth's rotation, sparing computer systems awkward adjustments for centuries
-
·
elDiario.es (outlet profile)
El mundo decide si rectifica el tiempo universal coordinado para evitar un caos tecnológico global. La Conferencia General de Pesas y Medidas vota a mediodía de este jueves si elimina el ‘segundo intercalar’ para ajusta…
-
·
Nature (outlet profile)
World's timekeepers upend how they adjust time to avoid catastrophic 'negative second'. Nature, Published online: 15 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03329-z Governments have voted to abolish the leap second immedia…
-
·
franceinfo (outlet profile)
Comment mesurer une seconde ? Quelle heure est-il sur la Lune ? Ces questions fascinantes que doivent étudier les scientifiques de la Conférence générale des poids et mesures. Cette instance internationale, réunie de ma…
-
·
Al Jazeera (outlet profile)
Clock ticking for leap second: Why timekeeping could change forever. Timekeepers add a leap second occasionally to keep our clocks and the Earth's rotation in tune. That could now change.
-
·
CBC News (outlet profile)
The 'leap second' could disappear. How a minor time adjustment became a major problem. For more than 50 years, humanity has used "leap seconds" to keep our clocks aligned with the rotation of the Earth. On Thursday, an…
-
·
La Croix (outlet profile)
Mesure du temps : pourquoi la seconde intercalaire vit ses dernières heures. La seconde intercalaire, utilisée pour aligner nos horloges sur la rotation de la Terre, pourrait disparaître prochainement. Réunie à Versaill…
-
·
Scientific American (outlet profile)
Scientists vote to end leap seconds, redefining how the world keeps time. A new system, called the “leap hour,” will allow the Earth’s rotation and official time to fall out of alignment by a full hour
-
·
The Conversation (UK) (outlet profile)
Experts have voted to stop adding extra seconds to clock time – the outcome favours big tech. Additional seconds added to the clock will be abolished starting from 2027.
-
·
elDiario.es (outlet profile)
El mundo aprueba separar la hora de los relojes atómicos y la rotación de la Tierra para evitar un caos tecnológico global. La 28ª Conferencia General de Pesas y Medidas ha eliminado los 'segundos intercalares' para man…
-
·
CBC News (outlet profile)
The 'leap second' could disappear. How a minor time adjustment became a major problem
-
·
El País Ciencia (outlet profile)
Las autoridades del tiempo deciden que los relojes atómicos y los astronómicos vayan cada uno por su lado. A partir del año que viene dejará de ajustarse el segundo bisiesto. El desajuste entre los relojes atómicos y la…
-
·
El País (outlet profile)
Las autoridades del tiempo deciden que los relojes atómicos y los astronómicos vayan cada uno por su lado. A partir del año que viene dejará de ajustarse el segundo bisiesto. El desajuste entre los relojes atómicos y la…
-
·
La Vanguardia (outlet profile)
Los relojes atómicos dejarán de añadir segundos para ajustarse a la rotación de la Tierra y evitar un caos global. La práctica lleva vigente desde 1972, y se ha convertido en un quebradero de cabeza para los sistemas in…
-
·
Известия (outlet profile)
Глобальные хранители времени проголосовали за отмену "високосной секунды"
-
·
NRK (outlet profile)
Skuddsekundet skrotes: Problemet utsettes i tusen år. Forskere har bestemt at forskjellen mellom verdens klokker og astronomisk tid først skal korrigeres når den når én time, altså 3600 sekunder. Beslutningen betyr at e…
-
·
Известия (outlet profile)
Временные трудности: как земляне переживут отмену високосной секунды. Из всемирной метрологии убрали лишнее мгновение
-
·
Le Monde (outlet profile)
Mesure du temps : la seconde intercalaire, liée au ralentissement de la rotation de la Terre, est abandonnée. Ces secondes supplémentaires, ajoutées de façon épisodique depuis 1972, pouvaient perturber les systèmes info…
-
·
Politika (outlet profile)
Укида се преступна секунда: време се више неће усклађивати са ротацијом Земље. „После 30 година расправа, спремни смо”
-
·
Daily Mail (outlet profile)
Time's up! Scientists vote to scrap the leap second - but will allow clocks to drift by an HOUR in huge shakeup. In the biggest shakeup for timekeeping in over 50 years, a key vote has severed the connection between the…
-
·
Известия (outlet profile)
Ученые отменят високосные секунды при измерении времени. Международные специалисты решили изменить правила отсчета всемирного времени. Корректировка часов на одну секунду, которую десятилетиями использовали для согласов…
-
·
Readovka (outlet profile)
Не думай о секундах свысока: мировые хранители времени заменили високосную секунду часом. Он придет через тысячу лет С мая 2027 года часы перестанут подгонять под вращение Земли — решение об этом приняла Генеральная кон…
-
·
Dnevnik (Novi Sad) (outlet profile)
СТВАРА ВИШЕ ПРОБЛЕМА НЕГО КОРИСТИ Укида се преступна секунда, после 30 година расправа око тога ОД МАЈА 2027. ВРЕМЕ ЋЕ СЕ ДРУГАЧИЈЕ УСКЛАЂИВАТИ. Међународна група научника, дипломата и стручњака за мерење времена одлучи…
-
·
El Mundo (outlet profile)
Los relojes atómicos dejarán de añadir segundos para ajustarse a la rotación de la Tierra. La Conferencia de Pesas y Medidas, reunida en Versalles, ha aprobado adelantar ocho años el fin de estos ajustes, previsto inici…
-
·
Guardian Science (outlet profile)
Time’s up for the leap second as scientists swap it for the leap hour. Delegates from 69 countries approve clock changeover after decades of debate – but switch may not take effect for thousands of years After decades o…
-
·
Sputnik Srbija (outlet profile)
Укида се преступна секунда, од 2027. време ће се другачије усклађивати. Међународна група научника, дипломата и стручњака за мерење времена одлучила је данас на конференцији у Версају да укине преступну секунду од 20. м…
-
·
News.ru (outlet profile)
Хранители времени определились с «високосной секундой». Глобальные хранители времени проголосовали за отмену «високосной секунды», пишет Scientific American.
-
·
Аргументы и факты (outlet profile)
Ученые проголосовали за пересмотр способов измерения времени в мире. Ученые решили отменить «високосную секунду» ради «високосного часа».
-
·
The Independent (outlet profile)
What are leap seconds? And why are they being abolished?. Since 1972, leap seconds have been added to clock time whenever our slightly wobbly Earth falls out of sync with atomic clocks
Factual core
- Atomic clocks will stop adding leap seconds to adjust for Earth's rotation.
- The addition of the leap second creates growing problems for computer systems.
- International timekeepers voted to abolish the leap second.
- An international group of scientists, diplomats, and time-measurement experts decided at a conference in Versailles to abolish the leap second.
- The General Conference on Weights and Measures is meeting in Versailles.
- Since 1972, 27 leap seconds have been added to clocks.
Other stories of the day
- Ukraine's Starlink access restored after overnight outage, White House order suspected
- Zelensky smiles when asked if Trump is making him a 'scapegoat'
- Vatican says Pope Leo XIV's condition improving after lung cancer surgery
- Trump announces 'massive' Greenland exploration; island and Denmark push back
- Ukraine resumes strikes on Russian refineries, Trump's 'energy ceasefire' collapses
- Trump weighs 'mother of all bombs' strike on Iran
- Istanbul hit by worst floods in 84 years: three dead, thousands evacuated
- Houthi strike on Aden presidential palace kills five