Earth Spinning Much Faster Than Usual

The Earth is currently spinning faster than usual, with recent records showing days shorter by about 1.3 to 1.66 milliseconds compared to the standard 24 hours (86,400 seconds). Notably, the shortest day ever recorded was on July 5, 2024, when Earth completed its rotation 1.66 milliseconds faster than normal. This acceleration is primarily attributed to changes in the Moon’s gravitational pull. As the Moon shifts closer to the Earth’s poles and farther from the equator, its gravitational tug alters, allowing Earth to spin slightly faster, similar to how a spinning top speeds up when pressed near its axis. This effect is expected to cause especially fast rotations on July 9, July 22, and August 5, 2025, with days shortened by about 1.3 to 1.5 milliseconds.
 
The other factors influencing Earth’s rotation include seasonal changes like vegetation growth move mass away from the spin axis, which tends to slow rotation, while shifts in Earth’s liquid core and melting polar ice can alter rotation unpredictably; melting glaciers and rising ocean levels shift Earth’s mass distribution, generally causing a deceleration of rotation over longer timescales, but recent short-term variations have overridden this trend.
 
Historically, Earth’s rotation has been gradually slowing down over billions of years due to tidal friction from the Moon, lengthening days from about 19 hours a billion years ago to 24 hours today. However, recent decades have shown erratic fluctuations, with a surprising speedup starting around 2020. The faster spin is imperceptible to humans but significant for precise timekeeping systems. It may require adjustments such as the unprecedented introduction of a negative leap second, subtracting a second from atomic clocks to keep them synchronized with Earth’s rotation, if the trend continues.
 
References
Arthur, A. (2025, July 8). Earth is going to spin much faster over the next few months — so fast that several days are going to get shorter. Live Science.