The Earth has tilted 31.5 inches because of human activity

The Earth has tilted 31.5 inches and its all a result of human activity.

The way the planet rotates has been fundamentally changed by the process of pumping groundwater, and it is having a far bigger impact than previously imagined.

As a result, sea levels have risen .24 inches in less than two decades and the Earth has tilted 31.5 inches.

This is the subject of a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters which considers the impact of this change on the rotation of the Earth and the distribution of water.

Ki-Weon Seo is a geophysicist at Seoul National University and study lead who said in a statement: “Earth’s rotational pole actually changes a lot. Our study shows that among climate-related causes, the redistribution of groundwater actually has the largest impact on the drift of the rotational pole.”

The study also considers the effect that the distribution of water has on the mass of the planet, with the study reading: “Like adding a tiny bit of weight to a spinning top, the Earth spins a little differently as water is moved around.”

The study identifies water movement from western North America and northwestern India as being the most significant, with pumping water from the midlatitudes having the biggest impact on the Earth’s rotation.

The study has built on previous research from 2016 that first put forward the idea – and it’s also more worrying news for the climate as it impacts sea level rise.

Sea said: “I’m very glad to find the unexplained cause of the rotation pole drift. On the other hand, as a resident of Earth and a father, I’m concerned and surprised to see that pumping groundwater is another source of sea-level rise.”

It comes after research published in 2024 considered that melting ice at the poles of our planet may change the Earth’s spin.

This could see a delay to the “leap second” that was due to be added to the world clock, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), in 2026. It may now have to be delayed until 2029. Read more here.

This article was originally published on 24 November, 2024.

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