World's Timekeepers Vote to Eliminate the Leap Second
Timekeepers have officially voted to eliminate the leap second, allowing Coordinated Universal Time to drift as much as one hour from Earth's rotation before a correction is needed. The change ends decades of occasionally adding or subtracting seconds and replaces it with a hypothetical "leap hour" that likely wouldn't be necessary for hundreds or even thousands of years. Smithsonian Magazine…
The world's timekeepers have unanimously voted to eliminate the leap second from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), allowing UTC to drift up to one hour from Earth's rotation before a correction is necessary. This decision marks the end of a prolonged debate spanning 30 years, with leap seconds often causing complications in computer systems and websites.
The move replaces the ongoing practice of adding or subtracting leap seconds with a hypothetical "leap hour," which is unlikely to be needed for hundreds or even thousands of years. Timekeepers are pushing back the decision and allowing UTC to diverge from astronomical time more than ever before.
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