World clocks will be set back by one whole second at midnight on December 31, this year. Researchers have said that Earth has not been able to keep up with its rotational pace. Therefore, the last minute of December 31 will have 61 seconds instead of 60.
Following the advice of astronomers, who use observations of stars to keep tabs on the Earth’s spin, the International Telecommunication Union has decided to adjust the world’s clock by one whole minute to set them right.
“People in North America who have shortwave radios and nothing better to do on New Year’s Eve can actually hear this ‘leap second’ correction being made,” said Roger Sinnott, a senior editor at Sky and Telescope magazine.
Astronomers have said that tuning into the shortwave station WWV at 5 or 10 Mh, or CHU at 3.335 Mh, will allow people to count 61 official seconds before the minute before midnight at Greenwich. If everything goes right, all personal computers, GPS receivers, and radio-controlled clocks around the world will automatically adjust themselves, they said, adding that the last time a leap second was added was on December 31, 1998.