Scientists have found that climate change, coupled with the movement of water masses towards the equator and the increasing flattening of the Earth, has led to an increase in the length of the day.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences notes that, according to the scientists: “The current climate changes are unprecedented. In recent decades, these changes have accelerated the melting of glaciers and polar ice sheets, leading to sea level rise. The shift of these water masses from the poles to the equator has led to a significant increase in the flatness of the Earth and the length of the day since 1900.”
Scientists point out that the length of the day is currently equivalent to about 86.4 thousand seconds, meaning that the length of the day has increased slightly, and the reason for this is the gradual slowdown in the Earth’s rotation due to the moon’s gravity.
The change was just over one millisecond per century. Scientists expect it to remain at that level for decades, but with increasing greenhouse gas emissions it could exceed 2.4 milliseconds per century.