Planet Earth began to rotate faster – scientists do not understand why

On June 29, an unusual event occurred – the shortest day on the planet in the entire history of observations. Once again, checking the time using atomic clocks, scientists missed 1.59 milliseconds from the standard 24 hours. This was another proof that the Earth began to rotate faster.

Since 2020, our planet has set speed records more than 20 times. In principle, such fluctuations are a normal phenomenon, because the shape of the Earth is far from an ideal sphere. And the speed of rotation is influenced by many different factors: internal structure, ebbs and flows, climate change and others. What caused the current acceleration is still a mystery, but scientists suggest that it may be due to fluctuations in the geographic poles of the planet.

If the accelerating trend continues, then scientists may have to subtract a second from atomic clocks for the first time in human history. Prior to this, the day had already had to be corrected by atomic clocks, but in a big way, adding a leap second. Interestingly, experts have already predicted an increase in the Earth’s day by a whole minute, however, in the very distant future – after 6.7 million years.