Earth's days are getting longer at an unprecedented rate. Climate change is to blame

"Rising sea levels are slowing Earth's rotation, lengthening how long an average day lasts. And the current rate of increase to a single average day—1.33 additional milliseconds per century—is unprecedented for at least the past 3.6 million years, a new study finds."

"Climate change is expected to have more influence over day length than the moon by the end of this century, according to Benedikt Soja, the study's senior author and a geophysicist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich."

"The slowdown is linked to the distribution of mass once held at the poles toward the planet's midsection. In the statement, lead study author and University of Vienna geoscientist Mostafa Kiani Shahvandi compared the effect to a figure skater who spins more slowly once they stretch their arms, and more rapidly once they keep their hands close to their body."

Rising sea levels caused by melting glaciers and polar ice sheets are slowing Earth's rotation and lengthening the average day by 1.33 milliseconds per century—an unprecedented rate for at least 3.6 million years. Multiple factors affect day length, including the moon's gravitational pull, geophysical processes, and atmospheric conditions. Climate change is expected to influence day length more than the moon by century's end. The slowdown occurs because mass redistribution from the poles toward the equator reduces Earth's rotational speed, similar to a figure skater spinning slower with extended arms. Though changes are minimal, they create problems for precise space navigation requiring accurate Earth rotation data.

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