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The magnetic north pole is racing toward Siberia

Status: Mainstream Verdict: Supported, but it has slowed

The claim: The north magnetic pole is moving quickly from the Canadian Arctic toward Siberia.

Why this label: The direction is well established: the north magnetic (dip) pole has moved from Canada toward Siberia for decades. The speed has changed. BGS reports about 10 km/year from 1600 to 1990, a peak of up to 55 km/year in the 2000s, and a deceleration to about 35 km/year over the five years before the WMM2025 release in December 2024. NOAA NCEI's 2025 annual report measured about 36 km/year over the past year.

Background

The 'magnetic north pole' that compasses point toward is the place where the field points straight down. It moves because the flow of liquid iron in the outer core changes. James Clark Ross first located it in northern Canada in 1831. The World Magnetic Model, produced by NOAA NCEI and the British Geological Survey and used by militaries, aviation and smartphones, is updated every five years to track it. WMM2025 was released on 17 December 2024 and remains valid until late 2029. Under WMM2025 the north magnetic pole for 2025.0 sits at 85.762°N, 139.298°E. The movement of the magnetic pole does not move the Earth's rotation axis or the geographic North Pole.

Evidence and arguments for

  • NOAA NCEI places the 2025.0 north magnetic pole at 85.762°N, 139.298°E (WMM2025), far from Ross's 1831 position in northern Canada. [1]
  • BGS: magnetic north moved about 10 km/year from 1600 to 1990, then accelerated to a record of up to 55 km/year in the 2000s, heading toward Siberia. [2]
  • NOAA NCEI's 2025 annual State of the Geomagnetic Field report measured an average drift of 36 km/year for the north pole and 9 km/year for the south pole over the past year. [3]

Evidence and arguments against

  • The 'racing' part is out of date. BGS's William Brown described a sudden deceleration from 50 to 35 km per year, 'the biggest deceleration in speed we've ever seen'. [4]
  • BGS expects the pole to keep slowing over 2025-2030 while still heading toward Siberia. [2]

Open questions & what would change the label

Why the pole accelerated and then slowed is still being studied. Swarm results link it to changing strong-flux patches under Canada and Siberia. What would change the status: a reversal of the drift direction, or a further sharp acceleration.

Sources

  1. NOAA NCEI: Wandering of the Geomagnetic Poles (WMM2025 pole positions for 2025.0). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/wandering-geomagnetic-poles data
  2. British Geological Survey news: Update to essential scientific reference maps reveals new movement of the Earth's magnetic field (IGRF-14 update). https://www.bgs.ac.uk/news/update-to-essential-scientific-reference-maps-reveals-new-movement-of-the-earths-magnetic-field/ data
  3. NOAA NCEI news, 9 Jan 2026: 2025 WMM Annual Report (State of the Geomagnetic Field) is released. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/2025-wmm-annual-report-released data
  4. British Geological Survey press release, 17 Dec 2024: release of the World Magnetic Model 2025 (WMM2025). https://www.bgs.ac.uk/news/airlines-shipping-companies-and-sleigh-drivers-rush-to-update-crucial-navigation-systems-ahead-of-christmas-rush/ data
  5. Finlay, C. C. et al. (2025). Core field changes from eleven years of Swarm satellite observations. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors. doi:10.1016/j.pepi.2025.107447 data

More in this section: Geomagnetic Field & Pole Shift, including the current status of the geomagnetic field.

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