GoKawiilBIPM to retire the leap second by 2027
The International Bureau of Weights and Measures announced it will stop issuing leap seconds to Coordinated Universal Time starting in May 2027, ending a practice used since 1972 to reconcile atomic clock time with Earth's slowing rotation. Since 1972, 32 leap seconds have been added, with the last one inserted in 2016.
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Leap seconds have historically caused technical disruptions for systems and databases built around continuous UTC timestamps, so ending the practice could simplify software that depends on precise time synchronization. The move also avoids the untested scenario of a negative leap second, which some experts worry could cause unpredictable system failures since it has never been implemented before.
- BIPM will stop adding leap seconds to UTC starting May 2027.
- 32 leap seconds have been added since 1972, most recently in 2016.
- Ending the practice avoids the untested risk of a negative leap second.
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Published there as: “The Leap Second Is No More”
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