Scientists and government representatives worldwide have voted to scrap leap seconds by 2035.
Like leap years, leap seconds have been added to clocks over the past 50 years to make up for the difference between exact atomic time and the Earth’s slower rotation.
Generally, leap seconds pass by unnoticed for most people. However, they can cause problems for a range of systems that require an exact, uninterrupted flow of time, such as satellite navigation, software, telecommunications, trade and even space travel.
59 countries passed the resolution to stop adding leap seconds by 2035.
Australia was among the countries in favour of ditching leap seconds, along with the US and France.
Russia voted against the resolution, but this was only because it wanted to push back the date to 2040.
Other countries had called for quicker time frames, such as 2025 or 2030, so the “best compromise” was 2035.
