Earth’s rotation speeds up: Timekeeping system could be changed

The increase in the Earth’s rotation speed could lead to changes in the timekeeping system. The issue will be included on the agenda of the 28th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM).

TodayPress TV reports, citing New Atlas, that the acceleration of the Earth’s rotation has left scientists facing the need to introduce a negative leap second into Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) by 2035. However, such a decision carries significant risks. Removing one second could cause global digital disruption and lead to widespread failures in telecommunications systems, power grids and satellite navigation systems.

To prevent technical disasters, experts around the world are planning to vote on replacing the leap second with a “leap hour”. If the initiative is approved, accumulating such an hour could take a thousand years. This would effectively make it possible to abandon frequent and potentially risky adjustments to timekeeping.

Previously, scientists warned that by the end of the 21st century, arid areas could cover more than 40% of the planet’s total land area. However, rising carbon dioxide concentrations could slow this process to some extent.