Climate Change Slows Earth’s Rotation, Delays Timekeeping Crisis

Struggling with daylight savings? Imagine the chaos if we had to subtract a second from global clocks instead! A new study reveals how climate change is literally warping time itself by altering Earth’s rotation speed – and delaying a potential tech apocalypse caused by 'negative leap seconds.'

When Atomic Clocks and Planet Earth Disagree

Since 1972, we’ve added 27 leap seconds to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to sync ultra-precise atomic clocks with Earth’s slightly sluggish spin. But now, our planet is pulling a surprise plot twist: it’s speeding up! Melting polar ice from global warming redistributes mass, counteracting the Earth’s natural slowdown and pushing back the need for history’s first-ever 59-second minute from 2026 to 2029.

Why Tech Experts Are Sweating

'Many computer programs assume all leap seconds are positive – rewriting them would be like changing engines mid-flight,' says Duncan Agnew, lead author of the Nature study. A negative leap second could crash financial systems, power grids, and your late-night TikTok scroll .

Core Issues & Icy Solutions

Earth’s molten core also impacts rotation speed, creating a planetary tug-of-war between geological forces and climate change. Who knew saving glaciers might accidentally save our digital infrastructure? Timekeepers now race to update global protocols before the clock literally runs out.

Reference(s):

Study: Climate change is messing with how we measure time

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