Brief
International Timekeepers Vote to End Leap Seconds Starting 2027
BIPM officials said the removal will simplify global timekeeping and avoid future negative leap‑second risks.
By Felo News Desk · Published
On 17 October 2026, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) voted to abolish the leap second, a practice used since 1972 to keep Coordinated Universal Time aligned with Earth’s rotation. The decision, announced by BIPM officials in France, will take effect in 2027.
What happened
At a meeting of BIPM officials, the committee for time and frequency voted to eliminate the occasional one‑second adjustment that has been added to UTC whenever Earth’s rotation slows. The change means that instead of inserting a leap second, the world will wait until an entire hour of discrepancy accumulates before a correction is needed.
What the reports add
The article notes that recent variations in Earth’s spin have raised the prospect of a “negative leap second,” a scenario never experienced before, according to Noel Dimarcq, president of the BIPM committee. Patrizia Tavella, director of the bureau’s time department, called the new approach “just easier” to track. Andrew Novick of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology said the first possible “leap hour” could be thousands of years away.
What was said
“This decision has become particularly timely because recent changes in the Earth’s rotation have raised the possibility of a first‑ever negative leap second, which has never been experienced and that could create additional risks for critical infrastructures,” Noel Dimarcq told SMH.
Patrizia Tavella said the new practice is “just easier” to keep track of. Andrew Novick added, “It could be thousands of years before this leap hour happens.”
How it came about
Leap seconds were introduced in 1972 to compensate for irregularities in Earth’s rotation that affect ultra‑precise atomic clocks. As computers, financial markets and communications networks grew more dependent on exact timing, the occasional extra second became a source of technical difficulty. The BIPM’s vote reflects a long‑standing debate among metrologists about whether occasional one‑second adjustments are worth the operational complexity.
Key facts
- The International Bureau of Weights and Measures voted to cancel leap seconds. (smh.com.au)
- The change will be implemented in 2027. (smh.com.au)
- Noel Dimarcq warned of a possible future negative leap second. (smh.com.au)
- Patrizia Tavella described the new system as easier to track. (smh.com.au)
- Andrew Novick said a corrective "leap hour" might not be needed for thousands of years. (smh.com.au)
Sources
- [1] smh.com.au — originally reported as “The leap second has been cancelled. It’s about time”
