Timekeepers Vote to Make 'Leap Second' a Full Hour
Timekeepers, diplomats, and scientists have voted to eliminate the leap second and introduce a leap hour instead. The historic decision by the General Conference on Weights and Measures alters how the world maintains synchronization with Earth's rotation. Previously, temporary one-second adjustments were inserted to correct discrepancies in planetary timekeeping, but these tweaks frequently caused digital systems to crash. Under the newly adopted framework, official time and Earth's rotation will be permitted to drift by a full hour before a correction is applied.
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- ✓ Timekeepers, diplomats, and scientists at the General Conference on Weights and Measures voted to eliminate the leap second.
- ✓ A new system called the leap hour was introduced, allowing official time and Earth's rotation to fall out of alignment by a full hour.
What changed
Global timekeeping authorities officially voted out the traditional leap second in favor of a leap hour.
Live updates
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Timekeepers Vote to Make Leap Second a Full Hour
Timekeepers, diplomats, and scientists have voted to eliminate the leap second and introduce a leap hour instead. The historic decision by the General Conference on Weights and Measures alters how the world maintains synchronization with Earth's rotation. Previously, temporary one-second adjustments were inserted to correct discrepancies in planetary timekeeping, but these tweaks frequently caused digital systems to crash. Under the newly adopted framework, official time and Earth's rotation will be permitted to drift by a full hour before a correction is applied.
Why it matters
Earth's rotation is slightly irregular, creating a growing gap between atomic clocks and solar time that historically required periodic manual adjustments. While individual seconds sound negligible, these sudden additions triggered catastrophic software glitches and system failures across global technological infrastructure. The transition to a broader interval aims to protect digital networks from unexpected crashes caused by micro-adjustments.
What is confirmed
- Timekeepers, diplomats, and scientists at the General Conference on Weights and Measures voted to eliminate the leap second.
- A new system called the leap hour was introduced, allowing official time and Earth's rotation to fall out of alignment by a full hour.
Still unconfirmed
- The leap second could be entirely scrapped by the year 2027.
What to watch next
- Implementation timelines and schedules for adopting the leap hour across global digital infrastructure.
confidence 100%Sources used for this update (14)
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- The Guardian — How an accelerating Earth led experts to adopt the leap hour
- Scientific American — Scientists vote to end leap seconds, redefining how the world keeps time
- Smithsonian Magazine — It's Official: Timekeepers Have Gotten Rid of the Leap Second—and Introduced the Leap Hour Instead
- The New York Times — The Leap Second Has Been Canceled
- Newser — Timekeepers Vote to Make 'Leap Second' a Full Hour
- www.newser.com — Timekeepers Vote to Make 'Leap Second' a Full Hour - Newser
- www.wionews.com — Leap second could go by 2027. What it means, as timekeepers gather in Versailles - WION,Latest World News
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