NASA confirm China’s Three Gorges Dam could make

China’s Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest power station, is so massive it’s subtly affecting Earth’s rotation. Towering 175 meters high and holding a reservoir capacity of 22 km³, the dam has powered millions of homes but at a significant human and environmental cost, including the displacement of over 31 million people. Built at a cost of around \$32 billion, the dam generates 0.54 terawatt-hours of electricity daily. However, its immense water storage—around 10 trillion gallons—has altered the planet’s moment of inertia, slightly lengthening each day by 0.06 microseconds, according to NASA geophysicist Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao.

While the change is almost imperceptible—equivalent to just over three extra days over the age of the universe—it’s a striking example of how human-made megastructures can impact the planet. Online, users humorously blamed corporations for making workdays feel longer. The dam’s mass has even shifted Earth’s poles by two centimeters. Other natural events, like the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, have also influenced Earth’s rotation, though in that case, shortening the day. Meanwhile, broader climate change trends are also contributing to a slow increase in day length, as noted in research analyzing over a century of polar motion data.

China’s Three Gorges Dam is so massive that it actually slowed Earth’s rotation, increasing the length of a day by 0.06 microseconds.
byu/drkmatterinc inDamnthatsinteresting