Time to slow down as clock ticks for a second longer on July 1

The world is giving an extra serving of time tomorrow, in case you want to sleep in.

It may not seem a lot — just an extra second — but it could pose significant damage to businesses that rely heavily on electronic systems.

You see, the last time this “leap second” happened in 2012, some 400 Qantas flights were grounded because the airline’s check-in system crashed, according to TODAY.

Yes, that bad.

According to the report, this year is especially critical for Asian countries as it is the first time that it will occur during trading hours since financial markets went electronic, points out Dr Liu Yan Ying, a meterologist at the National Metrology Centre of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

“There has been very serious debate within the time community in past years. Scientists want to abolish leap second insertion because it has caused so many unwanted issues but some people are against it,” he adds.
 

Leap seconds were first implemented in 1972. An additional second is added to global standard time to ensure that clocks are aligned with the Earth’s rotation, which gradually slows down due to factors such as the moon’s gravitational pull. 

And oh, don’t forget the time: it’s 07:59:60 on July 1.
 

Photo: [Duncan] via Flickr

 
 

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