---
title: "The Leap Second Is Finished, the Metrology Bureau Says"
url: https://media.yoora.tech/en/articles/leap-second-abolished-bipm
lang: en
published: 2026-10-18T12:13:35+00:00
updated: 2026-10-18T12:13:35+00:00
section: "News"
description: "Wired reports that the BIPM has abolished the leap second, ending a long fight among timekeepers over the extra second added to world clocks."
---

# The Leap Second Is Finished, the Metrology Bureau Says

Wired reports that the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) has declared the leap second abolished. For people who keep the world's clocks, that ends an argument that has run for years.

## What a leap second was

The Earth does not spin at a perfectly even pace, while atomic clocks tick with almost no drift. Since 1972 timekeepers have occasionally added one extra second to civil time so that it stays close to the position of the Sun. A minute that suddenly has 61 seconds is awkward for computers, GPS and networks, and such moments have caused software glitches in the past.

## Why it matters

Without leap seconds, clocks will run smoothly and engineers no longer need special code for a day with an odd length. The price is that civil time will slowly drift away from the Earth's rotation. In 2022 member states had already voted to stop adding leap seconds by 2035.

The summary we have does not spell out the exact switchover date, so check the BIPM's own announcement before planning anything around it.