Has Earth Tilted 31.5 Inches? What Scientists Reveal

A new study has revealed an unexpected impact of human activity: the Earth’s tilt has shifted by 31.5 inches (0.8 meters) in less than 20 years. But why? The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, highlights how massive groundwater pumping is redistributing water and affecting Earth’s rotation, with significant implications for both climate change and planetary mechanics.

According to a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, scientists have linked the seemingly harmless activity of extracting groundwater to Earth’s rotational drift. A study, led by geophysicist Ki-Weon Seo from Seoul National University, reveals how human actions are altering the planet’s mechanics in previously unimagined ways.

“Earth’s rotational pole actually changes a lot,” Seo said as quoted by Daily Galaxy, however, their findings show something much more unsettling, “The redistribution of groundwater has the largest impact on this drift among all climate-related causes.”

For instance, take Earth as a spinning top, with the weight shifting mid-spin. The result would be a wobble or tilt — exactly what’s happening to our planet as we remove and redistribute water across its surface.

In less than 20 years, humanity’s demand for water has contributed 0.24 inches (0.61 meters) to global sea levels by transferring groundwater to the oceans. While this may seem small, when combined with other climate-related changes, like melting ice caps, it’s speeding up sea-level rise more than expected.

According to the report, regions like western North America and northwestern India are particularly responsible for this shift. “Like adding a tiny bit of weight to a spinning top, the Earth spins a little differently as water is moved around,” the study mentioned as quoted by Daily Galaxy.