London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Earth is spinning faster than ever, scientists say no cause for concern

Earth is spinning faster than ever, scientists say no cause for concern

Earth is spinning on its axis at record speeds, although scientists say these recent findings are no cause for concern.

On June 29, the planet spun 1.59 milliseconds faster than 24 hours, according to timeanddate.com, which was the fastest since highly-accurate atomic clock records began in the 1960s.

This followed a streak of the 28 fastest days recorded in 2020, the shortest of which was recorded on July 19 at 1.47 milliseconds fewer than 24 hours.

In 2021, Earth continued to spin fast, although the shortest day was longer than the shortest in 2020.

This handout photo provided by NIST shows a strontium atomic clock, one of the world's most accurate time-keeping pieces in the lab of Professor Jun Ye at the University of Colorado, in Boulder.


After the record was set in June of 2022, Earth’s rotation almost reached its fastest the following month when it spun 1.50 seconds faster than 24 hours on July 26.

Scientists are unsure of the reason behind shorter days, although several theories have been put forward.

One of which suggests that the deviations could be due to a phenomenon called the Chandler Effect – which is a recorded wobble in the Earth’s rotation.

Other theories postulate that the change in speed could be blamed on changes to the oceans, tides, or to the Earth’s climate.

Scientists interviewed by the Associated Press said that the Earth’s rotational speed fluctuates regularly and that the record-setting measurement is no cause for panic.

An illustration depicting a shift in the axis of Earth's rotation, causing a 'wobble.'


“It’s a completely normal thing,” Stephen Merkowitz, a scientist and project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, told the Associated Press.

“There’s nothing magical or special about this. It’s not such an extreme data point that all the scientists are going to wake up and go, what’s going on?”

Atomic clocks have been used to measure time to a high degree of accuracy since the 1960s.

These devices measure the oscillations of a particle that vibrates millions of times per second to measure precise passages of time.

Discrepancies are often found when comparing atomic clock measurements of 24 hours to the time it takes the earth to rotate fully.

If these measurements become too out-of-sync, the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (an organization that maintains global time), may add a leap second in order to make up for the difference.

Comments

Ken 3 year ago
That's because the clot shot has killed so many people and they cremate them thus the world is lighter. So it will fling everyone off as it goes into hyper drive

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×