Scientists say that July 22 will be the second-shortest day of the year, with the Earth completing a full rotation in less time than usual. The planet will experience a shorter rotation, 1.34 milliseconds less than its typical 24 hours. This phenomenon is caused by differences in gravitational pull between the Earth and moon.
The Earth’s speed has been increasing over recent years, breaking records several times. July 5, 2024, was measured as the shortest day ever recorded, with a full rotation occurring 1.66 milliseconds faster than usual. This year, July 10 was the shortest day of the year, followed by August 5 as the third-shortest.
The Earth’s length of day has been slowing down due to the moon’s gravitational pull and tidal friction. However, climate change is causing days on Earth to become longer. The melting of ice at the poles is increasing the length of a day due to sea-level rise.
According to Timeanddate.com, the Earth completes one full rotation in 86,400 seconds, plus or minus a millisecond. If current trends continue, atomic clocks may need to be adjusted to accommodate for a “negative leap second” in the near future.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/july-22-shortest-day-year-scientists/story?id=123956655