Earth's rotation has accelerated: the global time system may change

Due to changes in the Earth's rotation speed, the global time system may change in the future. Scientists propose transitioning to a time system independent of Earth's rotation. A study on this was published in the "Naked Science" journal.

It is noted that currently, the world has been using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) since 1972. This time system is synchronized based on atomic clocks. However, the Earth's rotation speed is not constant. Consequently, a certain discrepancy arises between atomic time and solar time.

To bridge this gap, since 1972, 27 "leap seconds" have been added. That is, one-second adjustments have been made to align the time system with the Earth's rotation.

But in recent years, the situation is changing because the Earth's rotation has accelerated. Now, there is a need to remove a second, i.e., to introduce a negative "leap second" instead.

Scientists are concerned about the impact of such a change on modern technological systems. This is because a negative "leap second" has never been used in practice. Many computer programs were developed assuming that a second could only be added to time.

Experts believe that this could cause large-scale technical failures in communication and satellite navigation systems.

According to reports, to solve the problem, scientists propose decoupling atomic time from solar time. With this approach, the two time systems will gradually diverge. After hundreds of years, they could be realigned using a "leap hour".

In October of this year, in the city of Versailles, the General Conference on Weights and Measures will take place. An important decision regarding the future of the "leap second" may be made there.

If this proposal is approved, the new order is expected to take effect on May 20, 2027. After that, the use of "leap seconds" will be discontinued, and atomic time will gradually drift away from solar time.

According to calculations, the difference between the two time systems could reach one hour within 1000 years. Although this is not noticeable in people's daily lives, it is a significant change for global technological systems.