Humans Are Slowing Earth's Spin at a Record Pace, Study Finds

New research ties climate-change–driven sea-level rise to a record-fast lengthening of Earth's day: about 1.33 milliseconds per century today, with warming scenarios predicting up to 2.62 milliseconds per century by 2080. While the Moon’s gravity, glacial rebound, and winds modulate the effect, the human-caused signal is growing; past day lengths were inferred from fossil foraminifera. The current rate is among the fastest in 3.6 billion years and could affect precise timekeeping and spacecraft navigation in the future.