By STACY LIBERATORE, U.S. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
Earth’s rotation is set to mysteriously speed up on Wednesday, a puzzling phenomenon that has left scientists concerned about its potential long-term effects.
The change, influenced by the moon’s gravitational pull, will cause the planet to spin slightly faster at its poles, shaving approximately 1.25 milliseconds off the usual 24-hour day.
While too small for humans to notice directly, experts warn that if this acceleration continues unchecked, it could trigger catastrophic consequences.
As the planet spins faster, increased centrifugal force would push ocean water away from the poles toward the equator.
Even a modest increase, just one mile per hour, could raise sea levels by several inches in equatorial regions, threatening to flood low-lying coastal cities already vulnerable to rising waters.
In extreme scenarios, where Earth spins up to 100 miles per hour faster, vast equatorial areas could be submerged as polar seas surge southward, dramatically reshaping coastlines and displacing millions.
Beyond flooding, a faster spin would also shorten the solar day. Scientists warn that if acceleration persists, the day could shrink to just 22 hours.
This rapid change would disrupt human circadian rhythms, effectively shifting internal clocks two hours earlier every day with no time to adjust, a biological upheaval with serious health consequences.
Earth normally takes 24 hours, or exactly 86,400 seconds, to complete one full rotation, which is called a solar day. But a strange phenomenon is set to boost our planet’s rotation today
Studies have shown even small time shifts, like daylight saving changes, are linked to spikes in heart attacks, strokes, and traffic accidents.
A permanent, drastic shift could prove far more dangerous.
NASA astronomer Dr Sten Odenwald added that faster rotation would intensify the Coriolis effect, which governs storm rotation, leading to more extreme weather. ‘Hurricanes will spin faster and carry more energy,’ he explained.
Scientists track these minute changes using atomic clocks, which measure time by counting oscillations of atoms. This technology forms the basis of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the global time standard.
In recent years, Earth has recorded a growing number of ‘short days.’
On July 19, 2020, the day was 1.47 milliseconds shorter than average, and June 30, 2022 came in at 1.59 milliseconds short.
The current record was set just last year, on July 5, 2024, when Earth completed a rotation 1.66 milliseconds faster than usual, the shortest day recorded since atomic clocks were introduced in 1949.
Graham Jones, an astrophysicist at the University of London who discovered this recent pattern, notes that Earth’s rotation could speed up noticeably on specific dates this summer, including July 9, July 22, and August 5.
Earth’s rotation has been speeding up, leading to some of the shortest days in history this month (Stock Image)
Earth’s rotation naturally fluctuates by tiny amounts over time due to forces such as earthquakes, ocean currents, melting glaciers, movement in the molten core and large weather patterns like El Niño. However, the recent spin-up has surprised researchers.
Jones is now investigating internal Earth processes, such as shifting molten layers in the core, ocean currents, and high-altitude winds, that could be influencing this unexpected acceleration.
Although scientists do not know the exact reason for the acceleration, they are studying what’s happening inside the Earth.
That includes shifting molten layers in the core, ocean currents, and high-altitude winds as they affect the Earth’s spin.
Earth is not solid all the way through. Its core is made of hot, swirling liquid metal. As that molten metal moves, it can change the planet’s shape and balance, similar to how a figure skater spins faster by pulling in their arms.
Ocean currents and jet streams, fast-moving ribbons of air in the atmosphere, also shift mass around the planet, causing small wobbles or changes in spin speed.
