Earth is spinning faster
地球自转加速一天变短?
The Earth is spinning faster than it has in five decades, scientists say.
科学家表示，地球现在自转的速度比过去50年都要快。
Since last year, a full day has been taking less than the normal 24 hours.
从去年开始，一整天的时间就比正常的24小时要短。
July 19, 2020, was the shortest day since scientists began keeping records in the 1960s - 1.4602 milliseconds shorter than the full 24 hours.
2020年的7月19日是自上世纪60年代科学家开始做记录以来最短的一天，全天比24小时缩短了1.4602毫秒。
A 2015 study published in Science Advances suggests global warming may be the reason behind the Earth's speedier rotation¹.
2015年发表在《科学进展》上的一项研究表明，全球变暖可能是地球自转速度加快的背后原因。
As glaciers² melt, mass redistribution is causing the planet to shift and spin faster on its axis³.
随着冰川融化，质量重新分布导致地球自转速度加快。
"It's quite possible that a negative leap second will be needed if the Earth's rotation rate increases further," Peter Whibberley, a senior research scientist at the National Physical Laboratory, told The Telegraph. "But it's too early to say if this is likely to happen."
英国国家物理实验室的高级研究科学家彼得•韦博利告诉《每日电讯报》："如果地球自转速度进一步加快，很可能需要加上一个负闰秒，但现在还为时尚早，说不准这种情况是否可能发生。"

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