Magnetic North Pole Moving Strangely Toward Russia, Scientists Say

In a recent data recording, British scientists have reported they noticed strange activity in the High Arctic. The group of scientists has noticed that the magnetic North Pole is moving towards Russia in an unprecedented manner.

No doubt, this sounds strange, but this is because the scientists’ observation was indeed peculiar. As is commonly known, in the northern hemisphere, compass needles point at the magnetic North Pole of the planet.

Perhaps less commonly known, however, is that the magnetic north pole of the planet constantly changes, mainly due to the shifting contours of our planet’s magnetic field. This means that the planet’s magnetic north pole is different from the geographic North Pole, which stays still.

For centuries the magnetic pole used to move toward Canada

In recent times, the movement of the earth’s magnetic north pole has been rather strange. From 1600 to 1990, it is estimated that the magnetic north pole moved around six miles a year.

However, since 2000, it has moved up to 34 miles per year, something that was unprecedented in available data, but the mystery does not stop there, as over the last five years, the movement of the magnetic north pole slowed to 22 miles a year, a deceleration rate that had never previously been recorded.

On top of this, the direction towards which the magnetic north pole has moved has changed three times in the last 40 years. For centuries, and up until the 1990s, the magnetic north pole had moved toward northern Canada. Then, in the 1990s it changed course toward the Arctic Ocean before changing direction yet again and moving towards Siberia.

One possible explanation for the strange movement of the magnetic pole has been proposed by Professor Phil Livermore and his group from the University of Leeds.

They propose that this movement could be explained by some sort of tug-of-war among two areas of the magnetic force, one in Canada and another one in Siberia.

Magnetic North Pole is rapidly moving towards Russia

From 1600 to 1990, it is estimated to have moved about 10-15km a year. In the early 2000s, it sped up to around 55km a year

Santa has left Canada and is heading straight to Siberia. His new passport says “Ded Moroz”. pic.twitter.com/Gi98pjJU1I

— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) November 17, 2024

The movement of the magnetic field is driven by unpredictable changes in Earth’s core

The new shift in the magnetic pole movement was reported by the British Geological Survey, which in turn works with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to produce the Earth’s magnetic model.

The organizations devise this report once every five years, as the pole’s movement is driven by changes that are simply impossible to predict in Earth’s core.

This is because the changes are provoked by the churning of the molten iron that makes up a large amount of our planet’s core.

In other words, our planet’s magnetic field is created by the movement of liquid iron, and it is driven by heat escaping the earth’s core. Hence, predicting how it is going to move is impossible, but it can be monitored.

To do so, the British Geological Survey uses a network of both ground monitoring stations and satellites that help map the magnetic field in various locations.