Major change coming to everyone’s clocks for first time in half a century

The way time itself is measured will change for the first time in more than 50 years, with the leap second, which adds a second to keep our clocks in time with the Earth’s rotation, being removed in favour of a new system.

Since 1972, the world’s clocks have occasionally, about once every year and a half, been adjusted by a second to ensure they don’t go too far out of line with the rotation of the Earth and Sun.

This is because the two bodies do not rotate at a constant speed, compared to atomic clocks, which remain constant.

“The adjustments can cause problems for computer networks and other systems that need time to run smoothly,” Swinburne University professor Allison Kealy said.

“There was also concern that Earth’s recent faster spin might require removing a second, something timekeepers have never done before.”

Essentially, every time a second was added to the atomic clock (UTC), computers and other technologies were at risk of malfunctioning, as their software struggled to comprehend lasting 61 seconds.

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It has been a source of debate between scientists for decades, and there has finally been a decision made to avoid this problem by getting rid of the leap second altogether from next year.

On Thursday, delegates of the International Bureau of Weights and Measure from 69 countries met in Paris, where they voted on introducing continuous atomic time from May 20, 2027.

The Bureau published its reasoning, saying much of the world’s infrastructure, including communications and transport, would function better if atomic time was not adjusted periodically.

“Industrial users and the synchronisation needs of national critical infrastructures, for example transportation, energy distribution, telecommunication, and space projects require UTC to be continuous without any future adjustment,” the findings, translated from French, said.

Instead of a leap second, there will now be a leap hour, which will be a one-hour adjustment to bring together atomic time and the rotation of the Earth when the gap between them grows up to a full hour.

While this sounds dramatic, experts say this won’t happen for thousands of years.

“Everyday clocks and phones won’t suddenly change, and most people won’t notice a difference,” Kealy said.