The magnetic north pole is moving in a way that scientists have never seen before

British scientists have detected unusual activity in the high Arctic – the magnetic north pole is moving towards Russia in a way not seen before.

In the Northern Hemisphere, compass needles point toward the magnetic north pole, the location of which changes due to the changing contours of the Earth’s magnetic field. It differs from the geographic north pole or true north, which remains fixed at the point where all lines of longitude converge.

For centuries, the magnetic pole meandered close to the coast of northern Canada. In the 1990s it drifted into the Arctic Ocean. After that, it began to pick up speed and headed for Siberia.

From 1600 to 1990 it is estimated to have moved about six miles a