Like any celestial object, the Earth is a place in constant evolution, and this includes its magnetic field. To track these changes, scientists regularly publish updates regarding the position of the magnetic North Pole, a phenomenon essential to many modern technologies. This week, a new 2025 World Magnetic Model (WMM2025) was released. It reveals important information about the current location of the magnetic North Pole and its expected evolution over the coming years.
What is the magnetic north pole?
Unlike the geographic North Pole which is a fixed point located at 90° north latitude, the magnetic North Pole is a mobile point. It is determined by the movements of liquid metals in the Earth’s outer core, which generate a magnetic field. This constantly moving field creates a magnetic pole that shifts over time.
The World Magnetic Model (WMM) and its update
The global magnetic model is an essential tool for mapping and predicting the position of the magnetic North Pole. It is updated every five years by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the British Geological Survey (BGS).
The 2025 update is particularly important because it introduces several notable improvements. For example, in the previous version, the resolution (i.e. the size of the area studied for each measurement) was 3,300 kilometers at the equator, meaning that the details of the magnetic field were relatively large . In the WMM2025 model, the resolution has been improved to 300 kilometers at the equator. This means that scientists can now obtain much more detailed information about the position of the magnetic North Pole and the Earth’s magnetic field in general.
Credits: NOAA/NCEI
Why is this important?
The 2025 Global Magnetic Model Update does not only concern researchers and scientists, but it has a direct impact on the technologies we use every day like compasses which indicate the direction of the magnetic North Pole, and not the geographic pole.
Satellite navigation systems such as GPS, which rely on the precision of compasses and magnetic sensors, are thus directly affected by movements of the magnetic North Pole. For example, a deviation in the position of the pole can lead to errors in position calculations, which then affects air, sea and land navigation. As a result, updating the model is essential to ensure that these systems operate flawlessly, thereby enabling greater precision in the movements of planes, boats, vehicles and even smartphones.
Furthermore, understanding the movement of the magnetic North Pole is crucial for geophysics, as it offers important clues about the internal dynamics of the Earth and its core.
The accelerated movement of the pmagnetic north pole
Since the 1830s, Earth’s magnetic North Pole has traveled approximately 2,250 kilometers and moves from its initial position, near Canada, towards Siberia. This movement, which occurred slowly at the beginning, at a rate of less than fifteen kilometers per year, experienced a significant acceleration from 1990. From the 2000s, the speed of movement of the magnetic North Pole increased considerably, now reaching 50 to 60 kilometers per year. This change has piqued the interest of scientists because it indicates that the shift is not linear, but appears to intensify over time.
However, an unexpected phenomenon has been observed in recent years: about five years ago, the magnetic North Pole suddenly slowed down, with a decrease in its speed about 35 kilometers per year. This slowdown constitutes the largest deceleration ever recorded in the history of data concerning the pole.
How to explain it?
Scientists believe that these rapid variations in speed, both acceleration and deceleration, are linked to changes in the internal dynamics of the Earth. More specifically, the movements of liquid materials in the Earth’s core, which generate the magnetic field, could be influenced by temperature variations and heat currents within the planet. However, the exact mechanisms underlying these changes remain partially understood.
