Environment

Marine Heat Waves

The blistering heat waves that have scorched much of Europe this summer have also brought excessive heat to the Mediterranean, which experts warn could wipe out several marine species.

The sea between Spain and Italy has been up to 5 degrees Celsius above normal this summer, and it is feared the warmth has already ravaged ecosystems. Less severe marine heat waves also hit the Mediterranean during the past several years, leading to mass die-offs of marine life. Relentless heat and drought have also ravaged crops, including the prized olive trees of Spain and Italy.

The Shortest Day

Earth spun on its axis just an itsy bitsy teenie weenie bit faster on June 29, causing us to experience the shortest day since measurements began in the 1960s. By using high-precision atomic clocks, scientists determined that Earth completed its spin that day just 1.59 millisecond shy of 24 hours.

Influences such as earthquakes, El Niño, the moon’s gravity, storms and even vanishing glaciers can affect earth’s rotation. There have been several unusually shorter days in recent years, including 2020, when 28 were among the shortest in the past 50 years. But in the long term, Earth’s rotation is actually slowing down about one- 74,000th of a second each year, mainly due to the gravitational tug of the moon.

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