New research shows that climate change affects not only weather and sea levels but also the length of a day on Earth. Scientists have observed that the planet’s rotation is slowing at a rate never seen in at least the last 3.6 million years.
The research, titled “Climate-Induced Length of Day Variations Since the Late Pliocene” was published by Advanced Earth and Space Sciences, and was authored by Mostafa Kiani Shahvandi and Benedikt Soja of Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry at ETH Zurich.
As per the research, this happens because a process similar to the “figure skater effect” redistributes mass when melting glaciers and polar ice caps send water toward the equator. Between 2000 and 2020, this effect increased the length of a day by about 1.33 milliseconds per century.
To understand past changes, researchers studied tiny marine fossils called benthic foraminifera. These fossils help scientists track ancient sea levels, which in turn gives clues about how Earth’s rotation changed over time.
Traditionally, the Moon’s gravitational pull has been the main reason for Earth’s gradual slowdown. However, experts now believe that by the end of this century, climate change could have a bigger impact than the Moon itself. If global warming continues, the length of a day could increase by up to 2.62 milliseconds.
Although these changes are too small for humans to notice in daily life, they are very important for technology. Systems such as GPS, space navigation, and financial networks rely on extremely accurate timekeeping. Even tiny changes can create complications.
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