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\n 14\/03\/2026 – 7:00 GMT+1\n <\/p>\n
Climate change is slowing the planet\u2019s spin at an \u201cunprecedented\u201d rate compared to the past 3.6 million years \u2013 as scientists warn that our days are getting longer.<\/p>\n
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Research had previously shown how the melting of polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers is raising sea levels and slowing Earth\u2019s rotation<\/a>. <\/p>\n As meltwater spreads from the poles toward the equator, its effect is similar to a figure skater spinning more slowly once they stretch their arms.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat remained unclear was whether there were earlier periods when climate increased day length at a similarly rapid pace,\u201d says Mostafa Kiani Shahvandi of the University of Vienna\u2019s department of meteorology and geophysics. <\/p>\n How climate change is impacting day length<\/p>\n New research from the University of Vienna and ETH Zurich has managed to reconstruct ancient day-length fluctuations using the fossil remains of single-celled marine organisms called benthic foraminifera. <\/p>\n The chemical composition of the foraminifera fossils can infer sea-level fluctuations, helping scientists derive the corresponding changes in day length. <\/p>\n Previous research showed that from 2000 to 2020, our days were lengthened by 1.33 milliseconds per century due to climate-related factors. In the new study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth<\/a>, scientists found that this \u201crapid rise\u201d in day length is unparalleled over the last 3.6 million years.<\/p>\n \u201cThe current rapid rise in day length can thus be attributed primarily to human influences,\u201d says Benedikt Soja, a professor of Space Geodesy at ETH Zurich. <\/p>\n Why longer days can be a problem<\/p>\n Soja warns that climate change is predicted to impact day length even more strongly than the moon by the end of the 21st century. <\/p>\n While these changes are only milliseconds and will be imperceptible to humans, they can trigger widespread problems in a tech-dominated world. Accurate time measures are crucial for computing systems such as GPS and space navigation, which use atomic time based on the frequency of certain atoms.<\/p>\n These changes are unlikely to impact human biology, such as our sleep and circadian rhythm.<\/p>\n