Earth’s magnetic North Pole is moving. He is traveling east and has moved from Northern Canada to the Arctic. It is now heading towards Russia, and at an extremely high speed. This change also affects our smartphones. What’s going on?

It all comes down to the principles of electromagnetism. The magnetic North Pole is the point at which a compass needle is aligned. In the outer core, in the center of our planet, there is a huge amount of molten iron. When the Earth rotates and moves around the sun, this iron moves and produces a magnetic field. This activity leads to the creation of two main currents: north and south. This is known as Earth’s geodynamo system.

Since the 1830s, Earth’s magnetic north pole has shifted as much as 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometers). Its speed has increased in recent decades. According to a 2020 study, the speed of polar movement went from less than 15 kilometers per year to about 50 to 60 kilometers per year between 1990 and 2005.

At this current pace, it will travel 400 miles up toward Siberia over the next decade, scientists say.

Global geomagnetic field modeler for the British Geological Survey (BGS) Dr. William Brown told The Independent that the magnetic pole has been in northern Canada for centuries. However, it traveled towards the Arctic Ocean in the 1990s and is on its way to Russia.

According to the 2020 study, there was a change in the flow pattern in the Earth’s interior between 1970 and 1999. The Canadian ‘blob’ then became elongated and could not hold the magnetosphere. This is what is driving the shift towards Siberia.

Brown says that until the end of 2010, the rate of movement was about 55 kilometers per year. However, when he approaches Siberia, he has slowed down again and is traveling at a speed of 25 kilometers. This is the trend of the past five years.

How this affects people on Earth is the way our smartphones work. The Global Positioning System (GPS) and other satellite-based radio navigation systems would need to be repaired.

The navigation systems may become unusable if appropriate changes are not made. The World Magnetic Model, designed by the BGS together with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, will work to solve this problem.

It will recommend the necessary changes to be made to the compasses on our smartphones.