GoKawiilBIPM moves leap second retirement to May 2027, citing system risks
The International Bureau of Weights and Measures has voted to accelerate the end of leap seconds, shifting the planned retirement from 2035 to May 20, 2027. The move comes amid rising odds—estimated at 30% by 2035—that an unprecedented 'negative leap second' would be required to keep Coordinated Universal Time aligned with Earth's rotation.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
A negative leap second has never been implemented and, according to BIPM, poses a high risk of disrupting critical infrastructure that isn't prepared for it, with preparation costs potentially comparable to the Y2K bug response. Past leap second additions have already caused outages, such as Reddit's 2012 crash, suggesting that an untested negative adjustment could pose even greater risks to systems that assume a steady 60-second minute.
- BIPM accelerated leap second retirement from 2035 to May 20, 2027.
- A negative leap second, never before applied, carries high risk of disrupting unprepared systems.
- Past leap seconds have caused real outages, like Reddit's 2012 crash, highlighting the stakes.
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Published there as: “Leap seconds being retired next year to avoid wreaking havoc on computer systems”
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