The Earth's magnetic pole is naturally gravitating towards Russia, at unprecedented speeds, at that, baffling British scientists along the way, USA Today reports.
For a long time, the pole sat near northern Canada. However, by the 20th century, it began making its war over the Arctic Ocean in the '90s. At the time, it maintained a speed of 10-15km a year. However, with the dawn of the new millennium, it picked up a speed of 55 km per year.
From 2018 onwards, the speed has been at a constant 25km per year, and per Daily Galaxy, scientists are watching it draw closer to Siberia.
When the news broke out on X, many began chiming in with humorous quips and jests. Here's how one user reacted:
'Tomorrow's headlines: "Russia use North Pole as a weapon — Santa now on sanctions list!"'
Several more online had a lot to say:
"Expect an article from Politico now, declaring that Russia weaponizes the North Pole," another user joked.
"Putin weaponizing the magnetic field," someone else jested.
"Magnetic North was hijacked by the Russians - those devious people will stop at nothing," yet another cracked.
"I wondered who stole the magnetic north pole. It was the Russians, of course!" a fourth person quipped.
More and more began theorizing about the culprit behind the North Pole's departure from Canada:
"Obviously Santa doen not live on the magnetic northpole but on the geographic one, so he does not have to move. Also he can live where he pleases so if the northpole melts he simply moves to wherever he thinks is best," one user posited.
"Moving from the darkness into the light," another commented.
"NATO will shortly declare war on the North Pole," yet another claimed.
"Breaking News!!! Putin using North Pole as a weapon Russia will begin building military factories in the North Pole and Santa will have to leave North Pole and find a new place to live," yet another person joked.
Scores online poked fun and jested at Russia's expense.
Here's why the magnetic pole is shifting
The magnetic pole is what compass needles point to. However, this is not the same as the geographic North Pole, or 'True North' which is the pre-determined point for the intersection of all longitudinal lines. It also serves as Earth's rotational axis.
As for why the magnetic pole is shifting, here's what William Brown, a geomagnetism researcher at the British Geological Survey (BGS), told Newsweek:
"The magnetic poles shift because the magnetic field is an actively generated feature of our planet—the outer core. [The outer core] is full of molten iron, convecting and flowing vigorously, and generating an unpredictably varying magnetic field as a result."
Speaking with The Times, he noted:
"It’s like a giant cup of tea. It’s a hot liquid with the viscosity of water.”
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NOAA researchers and other such agencies are heavily monitoring the movement of the magnetic pole, upgrading GPS navigations, aircraft systems, and other such technology to maintain safety.
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