TECHNOLOGY

Leap Second Retirement Accelerated to 2025

PUBLISHED Oct 16, 2026, 10:41 AM ET

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The International Bureau of Weights and Measures voted to retire the leap second, a time adjustment that aligns atomic clocks with Earth’s rotation. This decision, originally slated for 2035, is now set for May twentieth next year, coinciding with World Metrology Day. The change follows concerns that future adjustments may require subtracting time, a scenario never attempted before and feared to disrupt critical infrastructure. Major tech firms—Meta, Google, Microsoft, Amazon—have supported scrapping the system after past outages on platforms like Foursquare, Reddit, LinkedIn, and Yelp. Instead of leap seconds, timekeepers will adopt leap hours, allowing atomic and astronomical time to drift until an hour adjustment becomes necessary, projected to take around three thousand years.

By Elena V. | JQJO News

Timeline of Events

2022 — BIPM agreed to cease leap seconds by 2035
2025 — Leap seconds replaced by leap hours, gradual drift begins
2025 — Major tech firms endorse leap second elimination
On May 20 2025 BIPM vote to retire leap second by May twentieth.
2035 — Original planned retirement year for leap seconds

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