World Timekeepers Abolish Leap Seconds, Adopting 'Leap Hour' System
The International Bureau of Weights and Measures voted to replace leap seconds with a leap hour to prevent computer infrastructure failures.
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The story so far
10 publishers have covered this in 11 articles since 14 Oct 2026. www.theregister.com published first, on 14 October at 16:30 UTC; Nature followed 7h 30m later. The most recent article, from www.theregister.com, appeared on 18 October at 23:01 UTC.
Outlets reporting it: Nature (major outlet), Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera (major outlet), The Verge (major outlet), The New York Times (major outlet), Science Latest (major outlet), www.theregister.com, Scientific American, cnet.com, New Scientist, Latest from Tom's Hardware.
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How it unfolded
Every source in the order it published.
- www.theregister.comLeap seconds face judgment day as time lords prepare to vote
- NatureWorld's timekeepers upend how they adjust time to avoid catastrophic 'negative second'
- Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al JazeeraClock ticking for leap second: Why timekeeping could change forever
- Scientific AmericanScientists vote to end leap seconds, redefining how the world keeps time
- cnet.comWorld Timekeepers Decide to Kill the Leap Second
- The VergeTime is a-changin’: say goodbye to the leap second
- New ScientistScientists have just voted to abolish leap seconds
- The New York TimesThe Leap Second Has Been Canceled
- Science LatestThe Leap Second Is No More
- Latest from Tom's HardwareLeap seconds being retired next year to avoid wreaking havoc on computer systems
- www.theregister.comTime Lords kill leap seconds, before they become the new Y2K bug
Sources
Every article we clustered into this story. Headlines link to the publisher.
- The Leap Second Is No More Science Latest ·
- The Leap Second Has Been Canceled The New York Times ·
- Time is a-changin’: say goodbye to the leap second The Verge ·
- Clock ticking for leap second: Why timekeeping could change forever Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera ·
- World's timekeepers upend how they adjust time to avoid catastrophic 'negative second' Nature ·
- Time Lords kill leap seconds, before they become the new Y2K bug www.theregister.com
Show 5 more sources
- Leap seconds being retired next year to avoid wreaking havoc on computer systems Latest from Tom's Hardware
- Scientists have just voted to abolish leap seconds New Scientist
- World Timekeepers Decide to Kill the Leap Second cnet.com
- Scientists vote to end leap seconds, redefining how the world keeps time Scientific American
- Leap seconds face judgment day as time lords prepare to vote www.theregister.com
In this story
- International Bureau of Weights and Measures
- BIPM