Many impacts of our consistently warming planet are becoming known, whether through news headlines or from firsthand experiences. One impact we might not be able to feel, but should be aware of, is that rising global temperatures are starting to impact how the Earth rotates.
What's happening?
An article from Interesting Engineering reported new findings about the Earth's rotation and how it is being impacted by rising temperatures.
The Earth's rotation is primarily governed "by the moon's gravitational pull and internal processes in the core and mantle," Interesting Engineering stated. However, scientists are finding evidence that the melting of ice caps at the poles, due to our planet overheating, is causing that melted water to move toward the Earth's equator, impacting the equilibrium, as per Interesting Engineering.
Dr. Benedikt Soja, professor of Space Geodesy at ETH Zurich compares this process to a figure skater, who will spin faster with their arms tucked in to their centre.
"Climate change is causing the Earth's axis of rotation to move, and it appears that the feedback from the conservation of angular momentum is also changing the dynamics of the Earth's core," added Dr. Soja, per Interesting Engineering.
Why are rising global temperatures concerning?
The Earth's changing rotation is causing our days to be slightly longer. "For the period from 2000 to 2018, the rate of length-of-day increase due to movement of ice and groundwater was 1.33 milliseconds per century — faster than at any period in the prior 100 years," a report from NASA stated.
The NASA report explained that the slight increase in our length of a day is imperceptible to humans. However, if our planet continues to warm and therefore further lengthen our days, it could overtake the moon's gravitational pull, which has kept Earth's climate relatively stable for billions of years, according to Space.
What's being done about rising temperatures?
Although rising temperatures are an ever-growing issue, the good news is that there is a never-ending list of tools, technology, collective action, policies, and more being done to reverse increasing temperatures.
Using or investing in renewable energy is a great way to take action. The rising global temperatures are caused by dirty energy from sources such as coal and oil. Reducing the use and need for these energy sources will reduce their impact on global temperatures.
Another step is to do some research into circular economies and learn how you can reduce your waste and contribute less to global production and shipping industries. Companies like Trashie will even reward you for participating in a circular economy.
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