GoKawiilBIPM votes to eliminate leap second starting 2026
The International Bureau of Weights and Measures voted to abolish the leap second, moving up a previously agreed 2035 deadline to May 20, 2026, timed to World Metrology Day. Instead of periodic one-second adjustments, timekeepers will allow atomic and astronomical time to diverge until a full 'leap hour' is needed, a scenario not expected for roughly 3,000 years.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The change was accelerated because Earth's rotation could soon require subtracting time rather than adding it, an unprecedented adjustment that engineers worry could disrupt systems reliant on precise synchronization, as past leap-second additions have caused outages at platforms like Reddit and LinkedIn. Backing from Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon suggests major tech firms see removing this irregularity as reducing risk to critical infrastructure.
- BIPM voted to scrap the leap second, moving the end date up to May 20, 2026
- Earth's rotation changes could have required subtracting time for the first time, raising technical risk
- Major tech firms including Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon supported ending the leap-second system
Source: theverge.com — Jess Weatherbed, 2026-10-16
Published there as: “Time is a-changin’: say goodbye to the leap second”
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