Earth is expected to rotate slightly faster on three specific days in July and August 2025—specifically on July 9, July 22, and August 5—potentially creating the shortest days in recorded history since atomic clocks began measuring rotational speed.
According to astrophysicist Graham Jones writing for timeanddate.com, these could be the fastest single rotations on record, continuing an unprecedented trend that began in 2020 when Earth started clocking unprecedentedly short days.
The mystery behind this acceleration remains unsolved, with expert on Earth rotation Leonid Zotov explaining that ocean and atmospheric models don't account for this huge acceleration in the planet's spin.
Since 2020, Earth has set multiple speed records for its shortest days, with the previous record occurring on June 29, 2022, when the planet completed one spin in 1.59 milliseconds less than 24 hours.
This unexpected acceleration puzzles scientists because Earth's rotation has been gradually slowing down over geological time, making these recent speed increases a significant departure from the normal pattern that occasionally requires adding leap seconds to maintain accurate timekeeping.
