Time measurement: The leap second is about to be abolished
Leap seconds compensate for differences between the irregular rotation of the Earth and our precise atomic clocks. So far, 27 have been inserted, the last one in 2016 - it is likely to have been the last one.
The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) plans to abolish the leap second, a periodic adjustment made to keep our clocks in sync with the Earth's rotation. The leap second is added or subtracted to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to keep it within 0.9 seconds of the astronomical time (UT1). The CGPM will make a final decision on October 15 in Versailles, France, and proposes to phase out leap seconds by May 20, 2027, allowing UTC to deviate up to 3,600 seconds from UT1.
This change aims to provide more stability, particularly for critical infrastructure and computer systems.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
