Why Timekeepers May Have to Turn Back World Clocks One Second
TIME TRAVEL
World timekeepers may be forced to knock one second off the global clock, as our planet is spinning slightly faster that it once did, according to the Associated Press. A study published in Nature on Wednesday said the change be necessary around 2029, scientists found, but it would’ve come a lot sooner if not for the climate crisis. Melting ice caps on the North and South poles counteracted the gradual increase in speed of the Earth’s spin, which is caused by the planet’s unpredictable, molten core. Earth’s spin had been slowing for thousands of years, due to the tides pulled by the moon. But the rate of deceleration has slowly decreased however, and starting around 2016 the Earth actually began to increase the speed at which it spins. “It’s not a huge change in the Earth’s rotation that’s going to lead to some catastrophe or anything, but it is something notable,” said geophysicist Duncan Agnew, who authored the study. “It’s yet another indication that we’re in a very unusual time.”