The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) recorded in 2020 that the Earth had a shorter mean duration since the 1930s. this phenomenon could be faster in 2021.
According to data from IERS, our planet rotated on its axis faster than normal in 2020. This new year is expected to continue on the same path, in other words, the days will be shorter than before.
2021 has the shortest days in nearly 100 years / Getty Images (reference) “2021 is expected to be the shortest in decades. The last time the mean length of all days in a full year was less than 86,400 seconds was in 1937.”says Graham Jones, an astrophysicist for Time and Date.
The calculations of the time and date expert predict that 2021 will be exactly 35.40 milliseconds shorter than the previous one. In 2020, the planet was rotating 1.28 milliseconds faster than recorded.
2021 will have the shortest days in nearly 100 years / Getty Images (reference) How long are the days?
“On average, the days will be 0.10 milliseconds shorter than the 86,400 seconds they should be, and the total year will be exactly 35.40 milliseconds shorter.”
According to BBC Mundo, “a Earth day or a period of rotation should theoretically be 86,400 seconds, that’s the number of seconds in 1,440 minutes or in 24 hours”.
“We think this has been going on for millions of years. But with very small variations. After a hiatus in 2004, with a slight delay, acceleration was restored in 2016,” added Graham Jones.
2021 has the shortest days in nearly 100 years / Getty Images (reference) Will there be a delay?
This acceleration will continue in 2021, although he does not know exactly how long it will take. At some point it will slow down again, ”adds Jones.
“If the shorter days continue, at some point we may need a negative leap second, that is, take a second off our clock to adjust to the fastest rotation of the Earth,” warns the time and date expert.