An unusual side effect of global warming is that climate change is impacting fundamental Earth systems, as evidenced by scientists studying Earth's rotation who discovered evidence of a slowdown in one, the BBC reported. Climate change is affecting fundamental earth systems in unexpected ways, scientists have found, as they announced a slowdown in one of the planet's rotations. 

Adjustments in global mass redistribution resulting from ice melting, sea-level rise, and atmospheric changes are affecting the Earth's spin rate, according to the research. The Earth makes one rotation on its axis in about 24 hours, although this is not a definitive period. Minor fluctuations in the rotation speed can be caused by natural factors like movements in the atmosphere, ocean currents and seismic activity. Observations, however, show that the long-term changes in mass distribution may also be due to man-made climate change. 

With global warming, ice sheets and glaciers are melting everywhere, including in the Arctic and Greenland, and pouring enormous amounts of water into the oceans. This inflow changes the mass (weight) distribution of the Earth from the poles to equator. The redistribution adds slightly to the length of a day over time because a spinning object slows down when its mass moves farther away from the centre. 

Scientists stress that the impact is very faint - a mere fraction of milliseconds each year. However, such effects will be small on a timescale of decades and could be quantified with careful astronomical measurements and satellite measurements. 

The researchers also point out that other climate phenomena, like sea level rise and changes in the atmospheric circulation patterns, can affect the Earth's rotation in complex ways. The results are useful in part to build community understanding of the way the Earth's systems are interrelated as the environment continues to evolve. 

This effect, although small in comparison to the natural range, highlights the broad spectrum of effects of climate change, not just an increase in temperature or weather extremes, experts warn. The impact of human activities on Earth processes is so great that these changes in the Earth's rotation are observable, even on a small scale. 

Advancements in climate science mean these signals are still being tracked to update climate models of Earth's system of behaviour and sharpen predictions of Earth's climate response to extensive climate change, among other purposes.