The position of the Earth’s magnetic north pole has been updated by scientists. He moves from year to year towards Russia.
An essential update for our GPS. The latest version of the World Magnetic Model (WMM), the main tool developed to model the evolution of the Earth’s magnetic field, was published in mid-December 2024, as spotted by CNN and the Washington Post.
“The Earth’s magnetic field evolves unpredictably over time (…) This is why the WMM is updated at least every five years,” indicates the American Oceanic and Atmospheric Observation Agency on its website. (NOAA).
The North Pole…even further north
According to this updated modeling, the Earth’s magnetic north pole is located a little further north than before. It is “now closer to Siberia than five years ago and continues to drift towards Russia,” notes CNN.
Unlike the geographic North Pole, which marks a fixed location, the position of the magnetic North Pole is determined by the Earth’s magnetic field, which is in constant motion. It is towards this point that the compass needle points.
-New high resolution model
The WMM is jointly developed by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and the British Geological Survey (BGS). This standard model is used by the governments and armies of the United Kingdom and the United States, but also by international organizations such as NATO.
“Smartphone and consumer electronics manufacturers also rely on WMM to provide consumers with accurate compass apps, maps, and GPS services,” NOAA recalls.
For the first time this year, scientists have designed a high-resolution version of the WMM, which should enable navigation services to be even more efficient.
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