COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME (UTC)

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a time scale adopted as the basis for civil timekeeping.

UTC is a compromise between International Atomic Time (IAT), which is extremely stable but disconnected from the Earth’s rotation, and Universal Time (UT), which is directly linked to the Earth’s rotation and, therefore, slowly variable. In “Coordinated Universal Time”, the term “coordinated” means that this time scale progresses in sync with International Atomic Time, sharing its accuracy and stability within a whole number of seconds. Thanks to an adjustment mechanism implemented whenever necessary, UTC is offset by one second so that it remains within 0.9 seconds of Universal Time.

A reform of the UTC system is currently underway to eliminate the need for leap seconds, which are used to synchronise it with Earth’s rotation. This change is expected to take effect by 2035.

Useful links:

– Second time zone
– Universal time