Metrologists retire the leap second immediately, instead of by 2035. Credit: Alejandro Martinez Velez/Europa Press via Getty Time discrepancies that used to be adjusted by a jump of a second around once every 1.5 years will now wait until an hour needs correcting instead. Leap seconds serve to align time given by the sun’s position
A negative leap second could mean computer systems no longer run like clockwork. Credit: Florian Gaertner/Photothek/Getty The leap second could be scrapped as soon as October. The periodic adjustment to the world’s clocks, which has been done every few years since 1972, was already set to end by 2035. But authorities are considering an immediate
