GoKawiilGlobal timekeepers may scrap the leap second before October vote
Standards body CGPM will vote in mid-October on ending the leap second, the periodic one-second adjustment used since 1972 to keep atomic clock time aligned with Earth's rotation. The move is being accelerated because the next adjustment could, for the first time, require subtracting rather than adding a second—a scenario computer systems have never had to handle. In its place, officials are proposing a leap hour that would only realign timescales once they drift a full 3,600 seconds apart.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
A negative leap second poses untested risks to infrastructure like power grids, telecom networks and financial exchanges that depend on precise time synchronization, since software has only ever been built to handle inserted seconds. Inconsistent handling across companies—Google smears the extra second while others insert it abruptly—already creates fragmentation, and a leap hour would reduce how often such disruptive adjustments are needed.
- CGPM votes October 13–15 on ending the leap second system used since 1972
- Risk of an unprecedented negative leap second is driving the urgency
- A proposed leap hour would only trigger once time drift reaches 3,600 seconds
La Crosse Technology Atomic Digital Wall Clock — While the world's timekeepers debate leap seconds and leap hours, your own wall can stay effortlessly in sync: this La Crosse clock receives the WWVB radio time signal and sets itself, including daylight saving changes. It's a fun nod to the atomic-clock timescale the whole UTC debate revolves around, and it means you never manually adjust the time again.
See La Crosse Technology Atomic Digital Wall Clock on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: nature.com — Gibney, 2026-08-31
Published there as: “The leap second is dead. Long live the leap hour?”
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