We could soon be living through the shortest day of our lives. According to reports, Earth is continuingly spinning faster on its axis. While we’ve known about this phenomenon for a few years now, scientists are paying close attention to the length of the days this summer.
According to a report from Time and Date, July 9, July 22, or August 5 could be the shortest days in recent years. We know for a fact that Earth’s rotational speed has been increasing since at least 2020. And each year, we see slightly shorter days during the middle of the year.
Now, it’s worth noting that the shortest day of our lives won’t be noticeably shorter in the grand scheme of things. In fact, the difference in the Earth’s rotational speed that day won’t even be noticeable, except when looking at it through the perspective of the atomic clock. That’s because while technically shorter, the day will only be around 1.51 milliseconds shorter, at most.
Exactly why the Earth’s rotation has accelerated is unclear, but scientists believe it could have a lasting impact. Not only will it shorten our days, but that can also affect a slew of other things, like the global climate and more. While we don’t know the exact reason why, we do know that tidal forces from the Moon and Sun contribute to the Earth’s rotation.
However, the list of things that can affect the speed of the Earth’s rotation, and thus the length of the day, is longer than you’d expect. Most believe that the change is driven by forces within the Earth, but it’s impossible to completely rule out atmospheric conditions, too. Still, knowing when the shortest day of our lives will occur is important information if we want to stay up to date with how the Earth is doing as a whole.
It’s no secret that the Earth will one day be swallowed up by the Sun. However, until that happens, the Earth will continue to survive as it has for billions of years. And as it survives, the rotational speed that drives our days will shorten and even increase as the forces affecting it change and evolve.
While we don’t know which of the three days listed above will turn out to be the shortest day of our lives, we know it’s very likely to happen again, at least until the Earth slows down.
