Earth’s magnetic field is NOT about to reverse, scientists reassure

For years, conspiracy theorists have warned that Earth’s magnetic field could one day reverse, leading to the apocalyptic demise of our planet.

But thankfully, in a new study, researchers from the University of Liverpool have reassured that it’s very unlikely to happen.

Speculation that Earth’s magnetic field could flip have been based on a gradual weakening of the field over the last 200 years, alongside the expansion of a weak area in the field called the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), which stretches from Chile to Zimbabwe.


In the study, the researchers created a model based on the two most recent geomagnetic events - the Laschamp, approximately 41,000 years ago, and Mono Lake, around 34,000 years ago, where the field came close to reversing but recovered.

Their model revealed that the magnetic field was comparable to how it is now approximately 49,000 and 46,000 years ago, with a structure similar to, if not even stronger than, today's SAA.


However, neither of these SAA-like fields developed into a reversal.

Professor Richard Holme, who led the study, said: "There has been speculation that we are about to experience a magnetic polar reversal or excursion.

“However, by studying the two most recent excursion events, we show that neither bear resemblance to current changes in the geomagnetic field and therefore it is probably unlikely that such an event is about to happen.

"Our research suggests instead that the current weakened field will recover without such an extreme event, and therefore is unlikely to reverse.”