The updated version of the World Magnetic Model was released on Dec. 17, with a new prediction of how the magnetic north pole will shift over the next five years. Here's why it was changed.

British explorer Sir James Clark Ross discovered the magnetic north pole in 1831 in northern Canada, approximately 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) south of the true North Pole.

The south magnetic pole is also moving, though at a much slower rate (10-15km a year). This rapid wandering of the north magnetic pole has caused some problems for scientists and navigators alike.

In the 300 years between 1600 and 1900, scientists estimate that the magnetic North Pole moved about six miles per year. At the beginning of this century, it picked up to about 34 miles per year ...

From 1999 to 2005, Earth’s magnetic north pole went from shifting nine miles at most each year to as much as 37 miles in a year. Nature Geoscience. Earth’s magnetic north pole is shifting.

In the recent past, the magnetic North Pole has moved 34 miles a year toward Russia. Just a half-century ago, the magnetic North Pole was wandering about 7 miles each year. Movement of Earth's ...

The magnetic north pole of Earth moves over time depending on the motion of molten iron in the planet's core. PeterHermesFurian/Getty. But where the north pole will go ...

The magnetic North Pole is on a journey toward Russia in a way that has not been seen before. The British Geological Survey (BGS) works with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric ...

The magnetic north pole has wandered away from the Canadian Arctic (solid blue line) and toward Siberia for about the past century, but it has considerably sped up over the past 20 years.