Ever feel like time has been speeding up and the days are just whooshing by? You’re not imagining things — turns out, there’s a bit of logic in that thought and also of course a lot of daydreaming! Scientists now say the Earth is actually spinning faster than usual, but just by a few milliseconds.
The change in the speed is subtle so we regular people can’t really feel it, but the scientists? They’re definitely noticing. Scientists say the difference is tiny, just about 1.3 to 1.5 milliseconds, so it’s not messing with our daily lives. But here’s the twist: this speeding up started back in 2020 and hasn’t stopped since. Mark your calendars because July 9, July 22, and August 5 are predicted to be the fastest days of the year. Earth’s basically hitting the cosmic gas pedal!
So, what’s making the Earth go faster? The moon is one of the reasons for such an anomaly. When the moon moves farther away from the Earth’s Equator, the gravitational pull reduces. This pull actually helps slow down Earth’s spin very gradually over time — like a gentle brake. So, when it moves away the speed slightly increases causing the Earth to rotate faster. For many years scientists have been studying how the Moon’s movement and Earth’s rotation are connected.
Ready for the scary part? If the Earth continues to spin faster and the speed increases over time, many natural calamities might show up. At 1mps faster, sea levels at the Equator will rise and the cities like New Orleans and Jakarta could start an underwater life. If it goes up to 100mps then Amazon and New Australia will completely vanish by drowning. Faster earth equals more cyclones and tsunamis. Bodily effects can also be a thing — we lose sleep, it messes with our minds, and end up stuck in a forever jet lag mode. But hey, relax — it’s only a few milliseconds faster. So maybe hold off on the overthinking… for now at least!
Interestingly, did you know that Earth used to spin much faster in ancient times? During the dinosaur era, a full day lasted only about 23 hours! So yeah, even the T-Rex had fewer hours to rule the world. Pretty unfair, right?
The universe may be chaotic, but here on Earth, time still hums to its own gentle rhythm.