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Global Warming May Delay Introduction of First-Ever Negative Leap Second

As climate change slows Earth's rotation, the anticipated need for a minute with only 59 seconds could be postponed until at least 2029.

Image
View of Southern Africa and the Antarctic polar region from space.
Stock image of the Earth (main) and melting ice (inset). Melting polar ice may be influencing the Earth's orbit enough to alter our global timekeeping.

Overview

  • Climate change is causing the Earth's rotation to slow, potentially delaying the need for a negative leap second until at least 2029.
  • Melting polar ice is redistributing mass from the poles to the equator, contributing to the slower rotation.
  • The introduction of a negative leap second, a minute with only 59 seconds, could cause issues for computer systems worldwide.
  • Since 1972, 27 leap seconds have been added to account for discrepancies between Earth's rotation and atomic time.
  • The world's timekeepers agreed in 2022 to scrap the leap second by 2035, allowing for a growing difference between atomic time and Earth's rotation.