
Get Ready For The Shortest Day Since Records Began As Earth Spins Faster
In a shocking twist, Earth is expected to record its fastest-ever rotation. According to records dating back to 1973, the planet has been spinning at an unprecedented rate since 2020. What’s more astonishing is that each subsequent year has produced the shortest day yet. The most recent occasion of this phenomenon occurred on July 5, and it appears Earth will come close to matching that record again around July 9, July 22, or August 5.
While it may seem like a trivial matter, the fact that Earth is spinning faster in 2025 has significant implications for maintaining time accuracy worldwide. Maintaining alignment between our planet’s rotation and atomic time is crucial for GPS and satellite navigation, financial systems reliant on precise timestamps, and synchronizing networks across the globe.
It remains unclear why this acceleration of the Earth’s rotation has occurred. Experts speculate that various factors are influencing the day length by mere milliseconds, including motion in the core and mantle, melting of ice sheets and glaciers, and changes in ocean currents and air movement. These variables could all have a profound impact on our planet’s spin.
This unexpected shift may also raise questions about leap seconds, which are used to keep atomic time aligned with Earth’s spin. Historically, international timekeepers have added leap seconds when the planet rotates slower, but this new development may require a reevaluation of this strategy.
Source: www.forbes.com