What Happened on June 30, 2015? Understanding the Leap Second

Discover why June 30, 2015, was significant for global timekeeping with the addition of a leap second.

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On 30 June 2015, an extra second was added to the world’s clocks at 23:59:60 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This leap second was introduced to account for Earth's slowing rotation and to keep our clocks synchronized with the planet's time.

FAQs & Answers

  1. What is a leap second? A leap second is an additional second added to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to adjust for variations in Earth's rotation.
  2. Why do we need to add leap seconds? Leap seconds are added to keep our clocks accurate and synchronized with Earth's rotation, which can fluctuate.
  3. How often do leap seconds occur? Leap seconds are added irregularly, approximately every few years, depending on the changes in Earth's rotation.
  4. What happened on June 30, 2015? On this date, a leap second was added at 23:59:60 UTC to account for Earth's slowing rotation.

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