In a remarkable turn of events, climate change has emerged as a factor influencing the Earth’s rotation, leading to a potential delay in implementing a negative leap second. Researchers studying the phenomenon suggest that the rapid melting of polar ice due to global warming is causing shifts in the planet’s mass distribution, ultimately affecting its angular velocity.
Potential Delay in Negative Leap Second
Duncan Agnew, a geologist at the University of California, San Diego, and his team discovered that the melting of ice in Greenland and Antarctica is reducing Earth’s angular velocity faster than previously anticipated. As a result, the introduction of a negative leap second, initially scheduled for 2026, may now be postponed until 2029.
