What Would Happen, If Our Planet Stopped Rotating?

The main effect would be that a day with 24 hours as we know it, would suddenly last an entire year. We would be in direct sunlight for six months, the remaining six months would be pitch-black night.

What Would the Weather Look Like Without the Earth’s Rotation?

The weather would change instantaneously as well. The rotation of the earth is one of the most important factors determining the weather. In certain regions of the earth, weather phenomena always occur in certain cycles. For example, winter arrives around the same time every year here, and it heavily rains in the tropics once a day for a short time. The whole system would get used to the new situation at some point, but until than, violent and unpredictable storms would rage on earth.

And Our Magnetic Shield?

In the long run, the magnetic poles of the earth would presumably vanish. The magnetic field originates from the rotation of the liquid iron in the interior of the earth. If there were no rotation, there would be no magnetic field. By losing our "magnetic protection", solar winds, which carry highly energy-intensive particles, could reach our planet. An increased cancer risk and genetic mutations would be the result in any remaining life.

Survival On a "Static" Earth

Civilisation could survive in comfortable, air-conditioned bunkers as we know them from science fiction movies, but the majority of the fauna and flora would not be able to survive under these extreme conditions, since they are adapted to certain temperature differences or light conditions. On the equator, the effects would be more dramatic than on the poles, since the latter are already adapted to six months day and six months night.

Good News At the End

All this will not happen very quickly in all probability. On average, the days become two milliseconds longer every century, but with that speed, the planet will at least rotate for another 43 million years.