Study: Climate Change Is Making Earth's Days Longer

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Facts

According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, mass redistribution due to rising sea levels caused by the melting of the polar ice caps is changing the length of a day on Earth.¹
The length of day, the time it takes for the planet to rotate on its axis, is about 86.4K seconds long. The study found an acceleration in the change of the day's length from 0.3-1.0 milliseconds per century during the 20th century to 1.33 (plus or minus 0.03 milliseconds) per century since 2000.²
The study suggests that Earth's movements — primarily determined by natural forces like the moon's pull — are now also reportedly regulated by human-driven global warming and the melting of ice sheets.³
Benedikt Soja, a study co-author and assistant professor at ETH Zürich, warned that 'climate change could become the new dominant factor' if planet-heating pollution and human-induced ice loss continue to increase.⁴
However, in 2020, Earth had the 28 shortest days since 1960 — as part of a streak of shortening days — when the world started using atomic clocks to set time zones. Two years later, the planet completed a rotation in 1.59 milliseconds less than 24 hours.⁵
The authors predict the variation in the length of a day on Earth, besides altering how time is measured, could also affect future GPS navigation and internet traffic.⁶

Narrative A, as provided by The Conversation. People view their life experiences on a mental timeline that isn't linear. Traumatic events feel immediate, while distant future threats seem less pressing. This influences human perceptions of climate change impacts — such as even the discussion of lengthening days. Localized, present-focused communication may motivate action by highlighting current impacts. Additionally, our subjective experience of time, influenced by mood, culture, and daily rhythms, means climate messaging must be nuanced.
Narrative B, as provided by L'Observateur. Climate change alarmism is politically driven. The fears are exaggerated and driven by insufficient data and natural climate variability. The movement is rooted in anti-capitalist sentiment, targeting oil companies. Climate models predicting catastrophic warming are inaccurate, and fossil fuels are essential for human survival. Festering about an alleged microscopic, imperceptible increase in the length of a day is a classic example.