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CGPM votes to abolish leap second by 2027
The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM), meeting in Versailles, has voted to abolish the leap second. This practice, used since 1972 to synchronize Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) with the Earth's irregular rotation, will be phased out to prevent technical disruptions in digital infrastructure.
Under the new decision, UTC will be allowed to deviate from astronomical time by up to 3,600 seconds (one hour) before a major correction is required. This change is expected to take effect on May 20, 2027. The move aims to protect critical systems, including telecommunications, financial markets, power grids, and satellite navigation, which can experience failures when processing irregular time adjustments.
Since its introduction, 27 leap seconds have been added to world clocks. The decision follows mounting pressure from technology companies and engineers who noted that leap seconds can cause significant software and hardware synchronization issues in data centers and distributed applications.
Entities
Coordinated Universal Time · Earth · France · General Conference on Weights and Measures · International Bureau of Weights and Measures · International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service · National Institute of Standards and Technology · Versailles
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 22 SOURCES] Leap seconds have been implemented 27 times since 1972. www.waltroper-zeitung.de · www.bbv-net.de · www.hellwegeranzeiger.de · www.onetz.de · www.stimberg-zeitung.de · +16 more
- [● 11 SOURCES] Final confirmation of the decision is expected on October 15 in Versailles, France. www.waltroper-zeitung.de · www.bbv-net.de · www.hellwegeranzeiger.de · www.onetz.de · www.stimberg-zeitung.de · +2 more
- [● 32 SOURCES] The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) intends to abolish the leap second. www.waltroper-zeitung.de · www.bbv-net.de · www.hellwegeranzeiger.de · www.onetz.de · www.stimberg-zeitung.de · +26 more
- [● 28 SOURCES] Leap seconds can cause disruptions in computer systems and critical infrastructure. www.onetz.de · haberkibris.com · sondakikakibris.com · stvincenttribune.com · www.yesilafsin.com · +23 more
- [● 30 SOURCES] Leap seconds reconcile the difference between Earth's rotation and atomic clocks. www.waltroper-zeitung.de · www.bbv-net.de · www.hellwegeranzeiger.de · www.onetz.de · www.stimberg-zeitung.de · +24 more
- [● 29 SOURCES] The last leap second was added in late 2016. www.waltroper-zeitung.de · www.bbv-net.de · www.hellwegeranzeiger.de · www.onetz.de · www.stimberg-zeitung.de · +23 more
- [● 26 SOURCES] The last leap second was added on December 31, 2016. trinidadtribune.com · dominicanrepublicpost.com · haberkibris.com · sondakikakibris.com · stvincenttribune.com · +21 more
- [● 19 SOURCES] Scrapping the leap second could complicate operations for financial markets and data centers. trinidadtribune.com · dominicanrepublicpost.com · haberkibris.com · sondakikakibris.com · stvincenttribune.com · +14 more
- [● 21 SOURCES] The General Conference on Weights and Measures is meeting near Paris to decide on the future of the leap second. trinidadtribune.com · dominicanrepublicpost.com · www.lalibre.be · haberkibris.com · sondakikakibris.com · +16 more
- [● 21 SOURCES] The Earth's rotation is gradually slowing and is irregular compared to atomic clocks. trinidadtribune.com · dominicanrepublicpost.com · www.lalibre.be · haberkibris.com · sondakikakibris.com · +16 more
- [● 15 SOURCES] A total of 27 leap seconds have been added since 1972. trinidadtribune.com · dominicanrepublicpost.com · www.botosaneanul.ro · haberkibris.com · sondakikakibris.com · +10 more
- [● 3 SOURCES] Leap seconds were introduced in 1972 to synchronize Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) with the Earth's rotation. trinidadtribune.com · dominicanrepublicpost.com · www.lalibre.be