Re: Climate Change News & Discussions
Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:47 pm
Human-driven climate change has 'slowed the Earth's rotation' and could affect how we measure time, study suggests
https://news.sky.com/story/human-driven ... s-13102985Wednesday 27 March 2024 21:24, UK
The melting of polar ice due to human-driven climate change has slightly slowed the Earth's rotation - and it could affect how we measure time, according to a study.
Although the disappearance of the ice has reduced the speed of the planet's rotation, the Earth is still spinning a bit faster than it used to.
The overall increase in speed means that for the first time in history, world timekeepers may have to consider subtracting a second from our clocks.
This means clocks may have to skip a second - called a "negative leap second" - around 2029 to keep universal time in sync with the Earth's rotation, according to the study published in the Nature journal.
If it wasn't for the impact of melting ice, the time change would have been needed three years earlier in 2026.