Standard
The world's standard timescale, computed by the BIPM from a weighted average of atomic clocks and used as the reference for computing, networks and GPS.
The General Conference on Weights and Measures voted in Versailles to end the leap second, with UTC going continuous on May 20, 2027. UTC may then drift up to 3,600 seconds from Earth's rotation before a leap hour is added.
Perspective Coverage
7 publishersReality
BIPM member states vote this week on ending the leap second, in a resolution that would take effect in May 2027. A yes vote lets UTC drift from Earth's rotation. CNN reported the change would touch systems that telecoms, power grids and computers rely on.
Reality
International timekeepers may change how leap seconds are added in October 2026, a space scientist wrote in The Conversation. Leap seconds keep atomic time in step with Earth's uneven spin, so a new strategy changes how clocks and planet are reconciled.
Reality
Eleven passes and one failure on a footer change turned out to predate the diff. The test built tomorrow in UTC while the function counts days in America/Los_Angeles, so it goes red from midnight UTC to about 07:00.
Reality
Member states vote outside Paris in October on ending the leap second years early, swapping a discontinuity engineers have at least practised for a realignment no system now running will ever meet.
Reality