The Earth is now spinning faster than ever in the last 50 years, researchers concluded based on last year’s astonishing discovery that the planet, instead of slowing down, has started to spin faster. A day is defined as 86,400 seconds or 24 hours – the time it takes for the Earth to rotate around its axis.
Researchers calculated that all of the shortest 28 days recorded in history occurred during the year 2020. Both popular and scientific media report that scientists are not entirely sure what is causing this increase in the Earth’s rotation rate. Some believe that the Earth has accelerated due to the melting of glaciers during the 20th century or the accumulation of large amounts of water in reservoirs in the Northern Hemisphere. Others believe that these are not sufficient reasons for this rapid spin. They reassure, however, that there is no cause for concern.
The new pace of the Earth should not affect daily life, but it could have consequences for technology, namely GPS, satellites, smartphones, computers, and communication networks, all of which rely on extremely precise time measurement systems. But such problems are ultimately overcome – technology adapts, and people evolve, and they are presumably ready to subtract a leap second from their clocks instead of adding one. At least it should be easier now that climatological summer has begun.
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