BIPM scraps leap seconds starting May 2027

The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) said it will stop issuing leap seconds to UTC in May 2027. Since 1972, 32 leap seconds have been added; the move avoids the untested risk of a first negative leap second.

• 32 leap seconds have been added to UTC since 1972, the last one in 2016
• The cutoff date is May 20, 2027, the anniversary of the 1875 Metre Convention
• The decision was driven by the rising risk of a negative leap second as Earth's rotation speeds up
• BIPM also agreed to introduce a leap hour, millennia from now