The Earth is spinning faster and it could lead to a second needing to be subtracted from time. That’s according to a new study published in the journal Nature Wednesday. Since 1972, a so-called leap second has been added 27 times in order to keep Coordinated Universal Time in sync with astronomical time because Earth’s rotation slowed.
Geophysicist Duncan Agnew at University of California San Diego who authored the study says the earth is now rotating a faster pace and a second will need to be subtracted instead of added for the first time ever in 2029. Duncan said changes to Coordinated Universal Time may be required earlier than planned because a negative leap second could cause major issues for computer networks.