CINCINNATI, Ohio — Leap Day only comes every four years, and while some may think of it as just a random day, experts say there is actually a lot of significance to it. 

What You Need To Know

  •  This year, 2024, is a leap year with Feb. 29 falling on Thursday

  •  The leap year helps make up for the extra time it takes for the earth to revolve around the sun 

  • Without a leap year, the winter season could shift to the summertime 

Earth takes almost 365 days, five hours and 49 minutes every year to make a full rotation around the sun. That is nearly six hours more per year, adding up to 24 hours over the course of four years.

That is the reason for the leap year every four years. Without this extra day, the world could see major effects.

“Eventually we would, you know, it would start to have more of an effect on our calendars and eventually the seasons would slide in a different direction in our calendars,” said Rebecca Borah, a University of Cincinnati English professor.

The next Leap year will be in 2028. But it’s important to note that normal leap years are skipped three times every 400 years. The next time that will happen is in the year 2100.