Research by scientists at the Technical University of Munich claims that days on Planet Earth will have 25 hours . According to experts, this is due to changes in the Earth’s rotation .
Internal movements and their variations cause the planet to move away from the Sun , which causes the rotation to change. Thus, the researchers identified that there was a six-millisecond change in the Earth’s speed in just two weeks. If this trend continues, the planet could have the aforementioned hours in a single day.
The scientists made the measurement using a ring laser belonging to the Wettzell Geodetic Observatory . In this way, the technology allowed them to recognize the speed of the Earth’s rotation , which results in the length of the days. The observation led them to detect that the planet is rotating more slowly.
When could this change occur?
According to scientists, this fundamental change in the Earth’s rotation could take a long time. More precisely, they say that an impact will not be felt for another 200 million years .
Until then, days will continue to last 24 hours, but it is estimated that this will increase little by little, with only minor variations. In other words, the current population of the planet will not be able to cope with the changes studied.
This would not be the first time that changes of this kind have been detected. Specialists have warned that a long time ago, approximately 1.5 billion years ago, days on Earth lasted only 19 hours . But already in the time of the dinosaurs, they had gone on to last 23 hours, and so on until reaching the 24 hours of today.
The consequences of this change
Although it is unknown what futuristic societies will be like in 200 million years, it is estimated that at a human and personal level it can bring profound changes , causing some alterations in the species, although without specifying which ones.
However, what is really certain and worrying for scientists is the impact that it would have on climate change. One more hour in the day could seriously affect this aspect.
This is because the Earth’s warming and cooling cycle is dependent on another cycle: day-night. So if the hours of light and darkness change, they directly alter the way the climate works .
In addition, weather forecasting models would have to adapt, since absolutely everything is based on the idea that a day lasts 24 hours.