January 2025

The Earth's north magnetic pole has shifted from Canada toward Siberia, altering the magnetic field and affecting charges particles like protons and electrons.

This change has caused these particles to reach altitudes 400 to 1200 km higher, impacting satellites by increasing drag and atmospheric heating.

The Earth's magnetic poles do shift with time, and this movement is well documented and significant.

Nature and Rate of Pole Movement

The magnetic north pole has moved approximately 2,000–2,250 km from Canada toward Siberia since around 1900, and its rate of movement has accelerated in recent decades to about 45–60 km per year.timesofindia.indiatimes+2
The magnetic south pole also drifts, primarily over Antarctica, shifting east over time.
These shifts are due to changes and unpredictable flows in Earth's liquid outer core, which generates the magnetic field.
The rate of movement can vary—sometimes the poles drift slowly, and at other times, the pace can increase rapidly.

Over geologic time, Earth's magnetic poles have not just shifted, but also flipped—a phenomenon called geomagnetic reversal. This happens on average every several hundred thousand years; the last reversal occurred 780,000 years ago.
During reversals, the magnetic field weakens, may become chaotic, and eventually reverses direction, but the planet retains some level of magnetic shielding.

The shifting of magnetic poles has important implications for navigation, satellite safety, and radiation protection on Earth.
Compasses and navigation systems must be updated to account for the changes in the position of the poles. In summary, the Earth's magnetic poles are not fixed and shift in response to dynamic processes inside our planet, with both gradual drift and occasional full reversals occurring over time scales from decades to millions of years.