He Earth’s magnetic north pole moved significantly and caused an update of the World Magnetic Model 2025 (WMM2025)the scientific reference that supports air and maritime navigation and numerous technological systems in daily use around the world.
This model is developed by United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the British Geological Survey. Its function is essential to define courses in aviation, ocean navigation and global positioning. It also enables the precise operation of digital compasses built into millions of mobile phones and car navigation systems.
Currently, the point towards which compasses point is located closer to Siberia that of Canadian Arctic. Since its official identification in 1831, the magnetic pole traveled more than 2,200 kilometers. This displacement is part of a natural process, although in recent decades it has shown relevant changes in direction and speed.
One of the aspects that generated the most attention in the scientific community is the slowing of movement. For years, polo advanced between 50 and 60 kilometers per year. In the most recent period, the speed dropped to about 35 kilometers per year. Specialists describe this phenomenon as the largest slowdown recorded so far, with technical effects that require constant adjustments to navigation systems.
Unlike the geographic north polewhich marks the axis of rotation of the planet and remains fixed, the magnetic pole changes position continuously. Its behavior responds to the movements of the liquid iron in the Earth’s outer coreresponsible for generating the Earth’s magnetic field. This field acts as a shield against solar radiation and allows orientation using compasses since ancient times.
He World Magnetic Model It is published every five years and serves as an official reference for governments, armed forces and technology companies. The version WMM2025presented in December 2024, remains valid until the end of 2029, unless abrupt alterations occur in the magnetic field. The model is used by civil aviation, commercial and military navies, underwater navigation systems and international organizations such as the NATO and the International Hydrographic Organization.
The data from the model also reaches everyday life. Manufacturers of mobile phones and cars They incorporate this information to calibrate digital compasses and navigation maps integrated into their products, ensuring precise orientation in different regions of the planet.
One of the main new features of WMM2025 is the inclusion of a version of high resolutionknown as WMMHR2025. This improvement reduces the accuracy margin by about 3,300 kilometers about 300 kilometers at the equatorwhich optimizes the calculation of headings in complex areas, especially in polar regions.
For everyday activities, such as commuting to work or using a cell phone, the impact of the movement of the magnetic pole is practically imperceptible. However, on long journeys and sensitive environments, such as transcontinental flights or ocean and polar navigation, an outdated model can generate errors of several tens of kilometers in the planned route.
WMM2025 also updates information on magnetic blackout zones close to the poles. In these areas, the behavior of the magnetic field reduces the reliability of compasses. These data are key for planning polar air routes and for scientific missions that depend on precise and safe magnetic navigation.
*The creation of this content was assisted by artificial intelligence. The source of this information is from Grupo de Diarios América (GDA) media and reviewed by an editor to ensure its accuracy. The content was not generated automatically.
