A construction project in China has changed the Earth’s rotation. Now another megaproject is underway, which is highly controversial. Not only environmentalists are complaining, but also neighboring states like India and Bangladesh are not pleased.
Which construction project has changed the Earth’s rotation? Specifically, it concerns the so-called Three Gorges Dam in China (in English “Three Gorges Dam”), which is said to have changed the Earth’s rotation and shifted the Earth’s axis. In a highly publicized report by NASA, cited among others by the English-speaking BBC, it states that the enormous dam system in China affects the Earth.
NASA researchers led by Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao at the Goddard Space Flight Center confirm that the storage of around 40 cubic kilometers of water by the dam increases the Earth’s moment of inertia. As a result, the Earth’s rotation speed slows down by about 0.06 microseconds per day, and the length of the day increases accordingly by this tiny amount. Additionally, the Earth’s rotational axis has shifted by about 2 centimeters.
We humans feel nothing of these tiny changes, but satellites and probes rely on the orientation and rotational period of the Earth for navigation and can already get confused by small changes.
Now, an even larger structure is set to be built in China, which is expected to far exceed the previous construction project.
New, even larger structure to dam the Yarlung Tsangpo River
What is this new project? At the end of 2024, a new, even larger structure was approved in China: The hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the autonomous region of Tibet: The construction is estimated to cost 167 billion US dollars and will be almost three times taller than the Three Gorges Dam. The total of five cascade dams is expected to generate 300 billion kWh annually, providing electricity to around 300 million inhabitants.
China sees the dam’s construction as another step in the right direction to supply millions of people with green energy (via TheGuardian.com).
What concerns are there? The neighboring states, including India, fear that the project will result in less water flowing south through the rivers (via hindustantimes.com). The Yarlung Tsangpo is known as Brahmaputra in India and forms a huge river delta, where India produces electricity in addition to supplying water.
Another point of criticism: The construction area is located in a seismically very active region, where the Indian plate is pushing against the Eurasian plate. The concern is that high dams, large reservoirs, and long tunnels could further increase the risks (via telepolis.de).
China is heavily investing in its energy network. For a particularly large and ambitious project, it has chosen Elon Musk and Tesla as partners. The communist Chinese government plans to pay about 4 billion Yuan for a large battery power plant: Elon Musk has received 472 million euros from China for a product from Tesla, but it is not about cars.
