VERSAILLES, Oct 18: International timekeeping authorities have agreed to stop adding leap seconds to the world’s official time standard from May 20, 2027, in a major change designed to reduce the risk of disruptions to computer systems and digital infrastructure.
The decision was adopted on Thursday, October 15, at the 28th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in Versailles, France, following concerns about the technical risks associated with adjusting global time by individual seconds.
Under the new arrangement, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the international standard used to synchronise clocks and digital systems, will operate continuously without interruptions for leap-second adjustments.
The change is intended to address growing concerns about the reliability of computer networks, telecommunications and other technologies that depend on precise timekeeping.
Why are leap seconds being discontinued?
Leap seconds have traditionally been used to keep atomic time aligned with the Earth’s rotation.
UTC is based on highly accurate atomic clocks, while astronomical time is determined by the Earth’s rotation. Because the planet does not rotate at a perfectly constant speed, the two measurements gradually drift apart.
To correct that difference, timekeeping authorities have occasionally added an extra second to UTC.
However, such adjustments can create complications for computer systems that depend on a continuous and predictable time sequence.
Experts have also warned about the possibility of introducing a negative leap second for the first time, which would require removing a second rather than adding one.
The unprecedented adjustment has raised concerns because many digital systems are not designed to handle it.
The CGPM’s decision will allow UTC to operate without these periodic corrections from May 20, 2027.
The move marks a significant change in international timekeeping, aimed at maintaining a stable global reference for increasingly interconnected digital systems.