The way the world time is set will change from 2027 by removing the leap second

The International Bureau of Weights and Measures agreed to stop leap seconds from 2027 to reduce the risk of disruption to critical computers and infrastructure. The post How to set the world time will change from 2027 by removing the leap second appeared first on Safir Arjan.

The International Bureau of Weights and Measures agreed to stop leap seconds from 2027 to reduce the risk of disruption to critical computers and infrastructure.

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The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) voted by the representatives of 69 countries to stop using the leap second from 20 May 2027 (30 May 1406) and consider a mechanism based on the leap hour instead. This decision was made with the aim of reducing the risk of disruption to computer systems and infrastructures that depend on accurate time coordination.

A leap second is a correction sometimes added to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to account for the difference between time based on atomic clocks and astronomical time, which is derived from the Earth's rotation. This amendment has been applied 27 times since 1972; But its implementation can be problematic for digital systems.

According to the Guardian, the members of the BIPM had already agreed in 2022 that the use of the leap second would be stopped by 2035 at the latest. However, the new decision has brought forward the implementation of this change and the date of May 20, 2027, coinciding with the World Metrology Day, has been set for it.

Coordinated Universal Time is set using highly precise atomic clocks and is the basis of timekeeping in various areas of technology, from communications and satellites to financial systems and power grids. On the other hand, the speed of the earth's rotation is not constant and changes under the influence of factors such as the movement of the earth's molten core, the displacement of the oceans and atmospheric currents.

With the invention of atomic clocks, the official definition of a second changed in 1967. Since then, the second has been defined based on a certain number of oscillations of the cesium atom, not the rotation of the Earth. Since 1972, leap seconds have been added to universal time to maintain the harmony between atomic time and astronomical time.

This method continued for more than five decades; But recent changes in the Earth's rotation have created another concern. In the last decade, the rotation of the earth has accelerated in some periods and it has been suggested that to maintain the harmony of atomic and astronomical time, instead of adding one second, it is necessary to remove one second from the universal time.

Such a correction, which is called "negative leap second", has not been implemented so far. According to experts, the lack of experience and sufficient testing of this change can increase the risk of software problems. The probability of applying negative leap seconds in the next decade was estimated at 30%; An issue that helped speed up the decision to abandon this method.

Adding a leap second means that one of the minutes lasts 61 seconds instead of 60 seconds. In the case of negative leap seconds, it will have one minute and 59 seconds. These changes are difficult for some software and computers to manage and may cause clocks to be out of sync, servers to fail, or networks to be disrupted.

Tech companies including Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon have also supported the abandonment of the leap second. One concern is that it would cost companies too much to test all the interconnected systems around the world to ensure they function properly when negative leap seconds are applied.

According to the new decision, the difference between Coordinated Universal Time and Astronomical Time can be gradually increased and no correction will be required before it reaches one hour. In this method, instead of periodically changing the time on the scale of one second, possible correction is done on the scale of one hour.

It is predicted that it will take thousands of years for the difference between these two time scales to reach one hour and the use of leap clocks will become necessary. Some estimates consider this period to be around 3 thousand years.

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