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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Leap seconds would be replaced by a continuous UTC that is allowed to drift farther from Earth-rotation time (UT1). Draft Resolution C proposes permitting the absolute difference between UT1 and UTC to reach 3,600 seconds (one hour), instead of inserting a one-second adjustment whenever the gap approaches 0.9 seconds. UT1 would continue to be measured and published for applications that need Earth-orientation data. The proposed change could take effect on 20 May 2027, but only if the 28th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) approves it; that outcome was not final in the 13 October 2026 status update.
The short answer: continuous UTC, with UT1 reported separately
Abolishing leap seconds would not create a new kind of clock or stop anyone from measuring Earth’s rotation. The change would be administrative and technical: UTC would keep running continuously, without a one-second step, while the allowed difference between UTC and UT1 would become much larger.
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Draft Resolution C, described by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in 2026, sets a proposed maximum absolute UT1−UTC difference of 3,600 seconds, or one hour. That is a draft limit, not an adopted rule. Under the proposal, UTC could gradually move farther from the time indicated by Earth’s changing rotation, and services needing precise Earth-orientation information would use UT1−UTC data rather than relying on UTC remaining within a fraction of a second of UT1.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsBIPM gives 20 May 2027 as the proposed effective date if the CGPM agrees to the draft. The CGPM was scheduled to meet from 13 to 15 October 2026, so the date and one-hour limit must be described as conditional until a final decision is recorded.
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How the present system works
TAI: the continuous atomic scale
International Atomic Time (TAI) is the continuous atomic reference produced from measurements by participating laboratories and coordinated by BIPM. Its rate does not speed up or slow down to follow the irregular rotation of Earth.
UTC: the international reference scale
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) has the same rate as TAI. It differs from TAI by an integral number of seconds; that integer changes when a leap second is inserted. UTC is the basis for civil time and for the reference timestamps used by most countries and international systems.
UT1: Earth-rotation time
UT1 describes the angle of Earth’s rotation. Because the planet’s rotation is not perfectly uniform, UT1 does not maintain a fixed relationship with an atomic clock. The quantity UT1−UTC tells users how far the civil/reference scale has moved from Earth-rotation time.
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The 0.9-second trigger
Under the existing arrangement summarized in the 2022 CGPM resolution, authorities schedule a positive or negative leap second when UT1−UTC is predicted to approach 0.9 seconds. The adjustment keeps UTC close to UT1, but it creates a discontinuity: one minute contains an extra second or, in a negative case, a second would be omitted.
What the proposed replacement would do
Remove the one-second steps
In the proposed system, UTC would no longer receive leap-second insertions to hold the offset near 0.9 seconds. Atomic clocks and UTC would continue at a steady rate. The calendar and ordinary clock display would proceed without a special 23:59:60 or an omitted second caused by Earth-rotation corrections.
Allow a much larger UT1−UTC offset
Draft Resolution C proposes a maximum absolute difference of 3,600 seconds. The word “maximum” matters: it would be the permitted boundary, not an offset that appears immediately on the effective date. The difference would evolve as Earth’s rotation diverges from the atomic rate. BIPM says the wider allowance is intended to maintain UTC continuity for several centuries.
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Continue publishing Earth-orientation information
UT1 would remain a distinct time scale, and the UT1−UTC difference would remain available. A telescope, spacecraft operation, geodetic service or navigation algorithm that needs Earth’s rotational angle could apply that information without forcing every civil-time system to perform a one-second correction.
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Current and proposed arrangements compared
| Aspect | Current leap-second arrangement | Draft continuous-UTC arrangement |
|---|---|---|
| UTC continuity | Discrete leap seconds can be inserted, creating a one-second step. | UTC would run continuously with no leap-second steps. |
| Relationship to Earth rotation | UTC is kept close to UT1. | UTC may drift farther from UT1; the UT1−UTC value remains available. |
| Offset threshold | A leap second is scheduled when UT1−UTC is predicted to approach 0.9 seconds. | Draft maximum absolute difference: 3,600 seconds (one hour). |
| Atomic basis | UTC follows the rate of TAI and changes its integral-second offset when a leap second occurs. | UTC would continue at the TAI rate without leap-second changes to that offset. |
| Decision status | Established under existing international practice and the 2022 CGPM direction. | Draft Resolution C; adoption and implementation remain subject to CGPM agreement. |
| Published timing | Leap-second decisions are made when Earth-rotation predictions require them. | Proposed effective date: 20 May 2027, if the draft is agreed. |
Why international metrologists want to change the system
Discontinuous timestamps are difficult for digital infrastructure
The 2022 CGPM resolution identifies risks to critical digital infrastructure, including global navigation satellite systems, telecommunications and energy transmission. Systems that assume each minute contains exactly 60 seconds can behave unpredictably when a timestamp repeats or when a special second appears. A database may reject a value, a scheduler may run an event twice, or a distributed system may disagree about event ordering.
The problem is not simply that a leap second exists. Operators have used different, uncoordinated implementation methods. One system may pause, another may smear the adjustment over a longer interval, and another may step its clock immediately. Those choices can produce temporary disagreement between systems that are supposed to be synchronized.
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- Large Digital Wall Clock: 14 inches large display with 4.3 inches numbers make this digital wall clock easy to read and it's visible around the entire room, friendly to the elderly and the visually impaired
- Digital Wall Clock Battery Operated: The clock is supported by four AA battery (not included). No wires make it can be placed anywhere; and the low battery symbol reminds you to replace the battery in time to avoid getting the wrong time due to low power
- Digital Clock with Date and Day of the Week: This digital wall clock with backlight not only does it give you the time, you can also get the day, date and current indoor temp at just a glance. And the day and temp display could be chosen to display alone or in turns every 10s
- Multiple Display Formats: Large digital wall clock with backlight makes it easy to know the time, two different time and temperature formats (12/24H; /) are available for your convenience and preference
A negative leap second would be especially unfamiliar
Since leap seconds began in 1972, the operational experience has overwhelmingly involved adding a second. The 2022 resolution also notes the possibility of a first negative leap second, in which a second would be removed, and says that such an event had not been foreseen or tested in the same way. BIPM’s 2024 account describes both positive and negative leap seconds as synchronization risks; it does not say that a negative leap second is scheduled or inevitable.
Continuity is easier to engineer than repeated exceptions
A continuously advancing reference scale lets software use ordinary monotonic assumptions for timestamps and intervals. It does not eliminate all time-synchronization work: systems still need accurate clocks, network protocols and reliable reference signals. It removes one class of exceptional calendar event that has required separate handling across many implementations.
Timeline and decision status
- 1972: BIPM says leap seconds began being used to keep UTC synchronized with Earth’s rotation.
- 2022: The CGPM directed the international community to develop a higher permitted UT1−UTC difference and an implementation plan by or before 2035, with the goal of keeping UTC continuous for at least a century.
- 2026 draft: BIPM presented Draft Resolution C with a proposed 3,600-second maximum absolute difference and a proposed effective date of 20 May 2027. The International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) endorsed the updated draft for presentation; that endorsement is not the same as final CGPM adoption.
- 13–15 October 2026: The 28th CGPM was scheduled to meet. In the 13 October status, the meeting had opened, so the proposal’s outcome could not yet be treated as settled.
- 20 May 2027: This is the proposed implementation date only if the CGPM approves the resolution and its associated plan.
- By 2035 or earlier: The 2022 resolution set this as the planning horizon for agreeing the higher limit and implementation details; the 2026 draft attempts to put a specific earlier date and value on that direction.
What changes for different users
People using clocks, calendars and phones
For everyday civil time, almost nothing visible would happen on the effective date. Clocks would continue to show ordinary hours, minutes and seconds. The difference would emerge over long periods as UTC and UT1 slowly separate. Civil noon would no longer be constrained to remain within about a second of the instant when the Sun is highest at a reference longitude.
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Software and cloud services
Applications that currently parse, store or compare leap-second timestamps would have a simpler future rule: no new leap-second insertion events after the change. Developers should still verify which time scale an API means by “UTC,” whether it exposes leap-second labels, and how it handles historical data. Existing records cannot be rewritten safely; systems may need to preserve historical leap-second behavior while applying the future rule to new timestamps.
GNSS, telecommunications and energy networks
These sectors are explicitly named in the 2022 resolution because they distribute time to many dependent devices. A continuous UTC reference could reduce the need for each operator to invent a separate leap-second strategy. It would not remove the need for holdover clocks, redundant references, monitoring, or documented conversion between UTC and UT1 where an application depends on Earth orientation.
Astronomy, geodesy and precision navigation
Observers and engineers who need Earth’s actual rotational angle would continue to use UT1 or the published UT1−UTC correction. They would no longer assume that UTC itself remains within a sub-second bound of UT1. Software and documentation would need to make that distinction explicit, especially when converting between civil timestamps and Earth-fixed or celestial reference frames.
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Imagine that Earth’s rotation gradually causes UT1 to move ahead of UTC. Under today’s rule, authorities would eventually announce a leap second so the difference returns inside the permitted range. Every system handling that instant must recognize the exceptional second or use a coordinated smoothing method.
Under Draft Resolution C, UTC would simply continue. UT1−UTC would be updated to show the growing difference, and the offset could eventually become minutes or, over a much longer period, approach the proposed one-hour boundary. A navigation or astronomy application could apply the published correction; a normal appointment calendar would continue to use uninterrupted UTC-based timestamps.
What the proposal does not mean
- It does not redefine the length of the second. The proposal concerns the permitted relationship between UTC and UT1, not the atomic definition of a second.
- It does not stop measuring Earth’s rotation. UT1 remains the Earth-rotation scale, and UT1−UTC remains useful to specialist users.
- It does not make the one-hour value final yet. The 3,600-second limit is in a draft resolution described in 2026.
- It does not guarantee a 20 May 2027 change. That date depends on CGPM agreement and implementation decisions.
- It does not prove that a negative leap second will occur. The negative event is a stated synchronization concern, not a schedule.
What organizations should prepare for
- Inventory time dependencies. Identify systems that ingest UTC, TAI, UT1, GNSS time or vendor-specific time feeds.
- Record leap-second behavior. Document whether each system steps, smears, rejects or repeats timestamps during a leap-second event, including behavior in archived data.
- Separate civil time from Earth orientation. Applications involving astronomy, geodesy, satellite pointing or Earth-fixed coordinates should obtain UT1−UTC explicitly rather than infer it from a civil timestamp.
- Review interface contracts. Confirm how APIs, databases, message queues and monitoring tools represent exceptional historical seconds and future continuous UTC.
- Plan for the final decision. Treat the 2027 date and one-hour limit as provisional until the CGPM publishes an adopted resolution and implementation guidance.
Bottom line
If leap seconds are abolished, they will be replaced by a continuous UTC and a separately published measure of the difference between UTC and Earth-rotation time. The current proposal would widen the permitted absolute UT1−UTC difference from a trigger near 0.9 seconds to as much as 3,600 seconds (one hour), reducing synchronization exceptions for digital infrastructure while preserving UT1 for precision users. A proposed 20 May 2027 start date remains conditional on the 2026 CGPM decision.
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