Number of major earthquakes set to DOUBLE in 2018 – because equator is shrinking

THE number of major earthquakes in 2018 could be double last year's total, according to scientists.

Expert geologists at the University of Colorado say that big quakes are going to be more frequent because the earth's spin has slowed – causing the planet's 'waist' to contract.

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This year we've already seen a quicker pace of high-magnitude earthquakes compared to 2017.

Since January 1, there have been three quakes that registered above a magnitude 7.0 – whereas only seven such earthquakes were that strong for the whole of last year.

Researchers now say that they expect twice as many major quakes in 2018 as we saw in 2017.

Speaking to Business Insider, geologist Roger Bilham the worrying phenomenon on the speed at which the earth spins.

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According to Bilham, when the earth spins more slowly, it causes the middle of the planet to contract.

This means that the equator – or belt – of Earth shrinks, squeezing the edges of tectonic plates together.

The speed of the Earth's spin changes constantly, but the researchers say we're experiencing a possible decade-long slowdown that could soon spark an earthquake epidemic.

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Bilham predicts that we could see, on average, an incredible 20 high-magnitude earthquakes per year, between 2018 and 2021.

He says that it won't cause new earthquakes that wouldn't have otherwise happened eventually.

But he warns that it will speed up the process that causes earthquakes to occur, meaning they'll 'arrive' quicker.

The big concern, it's believed, is that this phenomenon will affect countries near the equator much more significantly.

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This means that popular tourist hotspots like Bali, in Indonesia, could be at risk of frequent quakes.

The geologists are now advising people in earthquake hotspots to make sure buildings are quake-proof and that emergency plans are up-to-date.

"There is no good reason for people not to take simple steps to be better prepared," Colorado University research Rebecca Bendick said.