No leap second will be introduced at the end of December 2026
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
No leap second will be added at the end of December 2026.
Bulletin C 72 from the IERS announces that no leap second will be introduced at the end of December 2026. The difference between UTC and International Atomic Time TAI remains at -37 seconds since 2017. Leap seconds can be added at the end of June or December, depending on Earth's rotation. Bulletin C is issued every six months to either announce or confirm no time step.
What commenters are saying
Commenters clarify the announcement only covers this year, not a permanent end to negative leap seconds. Earth's rotation has been fast, and a negative leap second might be needed later if the offset approaches +0.6s. Some discuss leap second handling in systems like Spanner (using smearing) and grid frequency corrections. A recurring joke calls the IERS the 'International Earth Rotation Service' and the director the 'Time Lord.'