China is slowing down Earth’s rotation, says NASA
Produced by Tarun Mishra
Produced by Tarun Mishra
Spanning the Yangtze River in Hubei province, the Three Gorges Dam measures 2,335 meters in length and 185 meters in height. Its reservoir stretches 600 kilometres and holds up to 39.3 cubic kilometres of water.
With an installed capacity of 22,500 megawatts, the Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric power station globally, producing approximately 88.2 billion kWh of electricity annually.
According to NASA scientists, the dam’s reservoir alters Earth's moment of inertia due to the immense weight of stored water. This redistribution of mass slightly reduces the speed of Earth's rotation.
The change in Earth's rotation has increased the length of a day by about 0.06 microseconds. While the effect is negligible in daily life, it holds scientific significance.
Filling the reservoir would make Earth slightly rounder at the equator and flatter at the poles, while also shifting the planet’s pole position by approximately two centimetres.
The dam has caused significant environmental changes, including the displacement of over 1.2 million people and the flooding of large areas of land.
China plans to build a larger dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which could have greater effects on Earth's rotation and environmental conditions.
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