The International Rotation and Earth Reference Systems Service (IERS) recorded in 2020 that the Earth had a shorter average duration since the 1930s. this phenomenon could be faster in 2021.
According to IERS data, by 2020 our planet has rotated around its axis faster than usual. This new year is expected to continue on the same path, in other words, the days will last less than before.
2021 will have the shortest days in almost 100 years / Getty Images (Reference) “2021 is expected to be the shortest in decades. The last time the average length of every day in a full year was less than 86,400 seconds was in 1937.”says Graham Jones, an astrophysicist for “Time and Date.”
The expert’s calculations in time and date predict this 2021 will be 35.40 milliseconds shorter than the previous ones. In 2020, the planet rotated 1.28 milliseconds faster than recorded.
2021 will have the shortest days in almost 100 years / Getty Images (Reference) How long will the days last?
“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 terrestrial day or a period of rotation should theoretically last 86,400 seconds, ie the number of seconds in 1,440 minutes or 24 hours”.
“We believe this has been happening for millions of years. But with very little variation. After a break in 2004, with a slight slowdown, the acceleration was restored in 2016,” adds Graham Jones.
2021 will have the shortest days in almost 100 years / Getty Images (Reference) Will there be a slowdown?
This acceleration will continue in 2021, although it does not know exactly how long it will last. At some point, things will slow down again, “Jones said.
“If the shorter days continue, at some point we may need a second negative jump, meaning we take a second of the clocks to adapt to the fastest rotation of the Earth,” warns the expert in time and date.