Poles Apart

The strength of Earth’s magnetic field has been decreasing for the last 160 years at an alarming rate, scientists have found.

18:54 08 February 2017

The Earth is blanketed by a magnetic field, which protects our atmosphere and makes life in this planet possible.

 

The Earth’s magnetic field changes every several hundred thousand years or so and every time it does, the field tends to become weak. Researchers found that its strength has been decreasing for the last 160 years at an alarming rate. This collapse is centred in a huge expanse of the Southern Hemisphere known as the South Atlantic Anomaly. 

 

As the field continues to grow weaker, scientists are concerned about its dramatic effects, which may include the global reversal of the magnetic poles. Such change would affect the transmission of electricity and our navigation systems as well as cause the increase of cancer cases as more radiation would reach the Earth’s surface under very low field strengths.

 

The magnetic field strength is so weak there that it has become a hazard for satellites that orbit above the region. This is because the field no longer protects them from radiation, which results in the interference with satellite electronics.