Although it is well-known knowledge that the Earth rotates on its axis in exactly 24 hours, but something has changed since at least as early as 2020.
According to a report, the Earth has been speeding up for some time now.
Since the 1960s, Earth recorded its shortest month in 19 July 2020 when it was 1.47 milliseconds shorter than a usual 24-hour day.
The next year, the Earth continued to spin at a generally faster rate, but it did not set any new records.
Earth Shortest Day:
On 29 June 2022, the Earth recorded the shortest day ever in life when it completed a full spin in 1.59 milliseconds less than its standard 24-hour rotation.
On 26 July 2022, it came close to breaking the record again this month, when it was 1.50 milliseconds shorter than a usual 24-hour day.
Why is the Earth spinning faster?
There are currently nobody has been able to pinpoint the reasons behind it why the Earth has been spinning so fast.
According to scientists, many processes could be responsible for the increased spin.
According to the report, Global Climate change, Glacier Melting, motions of the planet's inner Molten core, Seismic activity etc. may be the reasons.
Some say that, the weight of the poles has decreased due to glacier melting.
A phenomena called the "Chandler wobble (a small deviation in the Earth’s axis of rotation)" may also be the reason.
What is happening with Earth’s rotation? How does it impact life?
The Earth is suddenly rotating faster than usual, which could spell disaster for us.
Earth's quickening rotation can affect several technology, including GPS satellites that use atomic clocks.
Reports say, atomic clocks used in GPS satellites won't take into account for how the Earth's rotation changes over time.
This means that GPS satellites are quickly going to become useless.
In addition, Smartphones, Computers, and other communications systems will also become unusable, because they are synchronised with NTP servers.
A time jump like this might crash programmes and currupt data because the clock progresses from 23:59:59 to 23:59:60 before resetting to 00:00:00.
To resolve these issues, International timekeepers might need to add a "drop second" — a "negative leap second".
Reports say, the days on Earth could get even shorter in the years to come.
According to IE news outlet, a 50-year phase of shorter days may be starting right now for Earth.