The Earth's rotation is undergoing changes due to climate change, raising concerns among experts. Scientists have been monitoring the impacts of global warming, predicting significant climate shifts worldwide by the end of the century. Recent research published in the journal Nature suggests that the melting ice at the Earth's poles could alter the planet's spin.
This change in rotation may lead to a delay in the addition of a 'leap second' to the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) in 2026, possibly pushing it to 2029. The accelerated melting of ice caps is linked to the Earth spinning slightly faster, causing a decrease in the angular velocity of the planet's liquid core and an increase in the solid Earth's angular velocity.
The potential influence of melting ice caps on the Earth's orbit could have significant implications for global time-keeping systems. This could impact various sectors, including financial markets and industries reliant on a standard global clock like UTC. Experts adjust UTC to maintain consistency with the stars as the Earth's rotation fluctuates. In the last three decades, a few seconds have been added to the global clock, with the next adjustment scheduled for 2026, which may now need to be postponed due to the effects of melting ice caps.
According to recent findings, future Earth orientation predictions indicate that a negative discontinuity in UTC may be necessary by 2029. This poses a unique challenge for computer network timing and could require earlier changes to UTC than planned. The acceleration of polar ice melting due to global warming is already impacting global timekeeping, highlighting the urgent need for action.
