The Earth has a fierce molten core that generates a magnetic field capable of defending our planet against devastating solar winds.
The protective field extends thousands of miles into space and its magnetism affects everything from global communication to power grids.
But this magnetic field, so important to life on Earth, has weakened by 15 per cent over the last 200 years.
And this, scientists claim, could be a sign that the Earth’s poles are about to flip.
In a new report, Daniel Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, claims there are signs of a reversal.
He says if this reversal happens, it is likely to render some areas of the planet ‘uninhabitable’ by knocking out power grids.
His comments were made in an in-depth Undark report written by Alanna Mitchell, who has a new book about the topic titled ‘The Spinning Magnet: The Electromagnetic Force that Created the Modern World and Could Destroy It’,
Mitchell writes: ‘The dangers: devastating streams of particles from the sun, galactic cosmic rays, and enhanced ultraviolet B rays from a radiation-damaged ozone layer, to name just a few of the invisible forces that could harm or kill living creatures.’
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