the Year 2038 problem
termprogrammingops culture
Signed 32-bit Unix time overflows at 03:14:07 UTC on January 19, 2038, wrapping the clock to 1901.
Unix counts seconds since 1970 in what was historically a signed 32-bit integer, which runs out in January 2038; affected systems will suddenly believe it is December 1901. Modern platforms have moved time_t to 64 bits, but the problem lives on in embedded devices, file formats, protocols, and databases with decades of service life. It is Y2K's quieter sibling: better understood, further away, and buried deeper.
Also known as: Y2K38, Unix epochalypse