Scientists have discovered a mysterious phenomenon that is accelerating the Earth’s rotation, leading to shorter days.
In the month of July, the world experienced three days shorter than the normal 24-hour or 86,400 seconds duration.
The July 9, 10 and 22 were each 1.3 milliseconds shorter than the standard duration of a day and it is expected that the phenomenon will repeat on August 5, 2025.
The mysterious reasons behind this acceleration has puzzled scientists, however, one of the astronomers has a theory.
Professor David Jewitt, an astronomer at UCLA has linked the phenomenon to a principle called conservation of angular momentum. He said that the cosmic trend might be linked to the Physics rule that governs rotating bodies to behave when mass shifts.
In a bit simpler terms, Jewitt explained that when the melting glaciers, shift in tectonic plates and atmospheric dynamics changes Earth’s mass distribution, the planet starts spinning slightly faster.
Despite the change in duration being so small (in milliseconds), its accumulation can disrupt global timekeeping systems.
Scientists have warned that the increasing rotation speed can:
- Intensify hurricanes
- Raise sea levels
- Trigger catastrophic flooding
The faster spinning could theoretically exacerbate climate change as centrifugal forces push water away from the poles which can raise sea levels by several inches causing flooding.
In an extreme scenario, if the Earth starts spinning 100 miles per hour faster than usual, this could shorten the day to 22 hours and the equatorial region begin to drown under rushing polar waters.
According to National Aeronautic and Space Authority (NASA) astronomer Dr Sten Odenwald, “Weather patterns could get more severe with the faster spin causing powerful storms and hurricanes.”