New Delhi | May 3, 2025 — A new report from NASA has revealed that China’s Three Gorges Dam has had a measurable impact on the Earth’s rotation and axis alignment. The finding has sparked fresh conversations about the unintended consequences of large-scale infrastructure and its global implications.

According to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the sheer volume of water stored behind the dam—estimated at 40 billion cubic meters—has altered the distribution of mass on the planet. As a result, the length of a day has increased by 0.06 microseconds, and the Earth’s axis has shifted by nearly 2 centimeters.

The Three Gorges Dam, which spans the Yangtze River in Hubei Province, is the world’s largest hydropower project. Completed in 2012, it plays a critical role in China’s energy infrastructure, generating over 100 terawatt-hours annually. However, this latest finding underscores the broader geopolitical and environmental considerations tied to megaprojects of such scale.

NASA’s assessment draws attention to how localized engineering projects can produce ripple effects far beyond national borders. While the changes reported are minor in absolute terms, experts suggest they signal a need for international discussions around the long-term impact of such developments—particularly as nations pursue aggressive infrastructure expansion to meet economic and climate goals.

The disclosure may also revive concerns among environmental and economic analysts who have questioned the long-term tradeoffs of the $28 billion dam. Past criticism has included ecological disruption, mass displacement, and seismic risks. This new development adds a new dimension: planetary-scale consequences.

As countries like India, Brazil, and Ethiopia pursue their own mega-dam ambitions, the data from NASA could prompt further scrutiny of global infrastructure policy. Investors, multilateral agencies, and governments may soon find themselves re-evaluating the balance between economic growth, environmental cost, and international accountability.

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