Ever since our planet's formation from a cloud of gas and dust, it has been rotating around its axis, and according to numerous scientific studies, with each passing year our planet takes about an extra 2 seconds to complete a rotation.
As a result, National Geographic has prepared a possible scenario depicting the catastrophic consequences we'd have to face if one day the Earth were to stop spinning.
The 1st thing that would make it obvious to us that our planet was no longer rotating around its axis would be the absence of navigation that airplane pilots normally receive thanks to the thousands of satellites orbiting our Earth. Hundreds of thousands of lives would be in danger once the navigation systems fail.
With the Earth no longer spinning, we can all say goodbye to our 24-hour day. There would no longer be any point in counting the hours of day and night since one half of the planet would be in perpetual day and the other - in endless darkness.
But the greatest threat will come from the world's oceans. If the Earth were to cease spinning, 1 billion cubic liters of water would be on the move, and the first affected shoreline would be the Canadian part of the Arctic and, little by little, the majority of nations will find themselves underwater.
Floods will also devastate Russia - one of the biggest exporters of natural gas and coal, thereby depriving billions of people of a means of heating their homes. The surge of water toward the North Pole will form a new ocean, submerging London, Moscow, Berlin and even entire countries.
The receding water will dry out many straits, such as the English Channel, linking continental Europe with Ireland and the UK. Cuba and Florida will also link up by land, as well as Australia and Indonesia.
Due to Earth's orbit around the Sun, the atmosphere is evenly distributed across the entire planet. Once the Earth stops spinning, the atmosphere will follow the drift of the oceans - from the equator toward the 2 poles.
This change will make breathing impossible in cities located around the tropics, such as Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City and Mumbai, plus the air will thin out all over the planet, making it difficult for people to breathe normally.
The only areas where humans would be able to breathe without a problem will be New York, Toronto and London. People would always be able to breathe in Miami but the sun's rays there will be deadly due to the excessively strong radiation.
The Earth consists of 3 layers - crust, mantle and core, all spinning together. If it stops spinning, the crust will begin to crack, causing devastating earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Any type of travel will be life-threatening and there won't be any way to guarantee the safety of people.
