This is another instance of "it" being used when it has no antecedent. Your questions in the parentheses can both be answered YES! It's something of an idiom, I guess ... like these:
It's hot outside today.
It's raining cats and dogs.
It is too late to cancel my order.
(What does 'it' refer to in the sentence? Is 'it' a false subject or the impersonal pronoun referring to 'the time'?)
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