Earth’s Magnetic Poles Going To Flip, Have Devastating Effect On Humanity

Planet Earth's magnetic poles are going to reverse, which will result in devastating consequences for humanity according to a new study. Researchers believe that a full magnetic reversal for Earth is long overdue. Moreover, the strength of the magnetic field that used to decrease by 5 percent every 100 years seems to be happening much faster at 5 percent every 10 years.

Earth's magnetic field acts as an invisible force that protects life on the planet from the harmful effects of cosmic rays and it also helps in deflecting charged particles away from us. According to the study, scientists feel that the chances of a full magnetic field flip is highly possible within the next 2,000 years. The last full flip of the poles took place 780,000 years ago and a temporary reversal took place 41,000 years ago.

A reversal of the magnetic field could have a devastating effect on humanity not only because it will allow increased levels of radiations on and above the surface of the planet but such an occurrence could also wreck life as we know it. It is particularly because everything from animal migration patterns and ocean currents to Earth's power lines and satellites is dependent on the stability of the poles. In fact, according to Phys.org, a complete switch of the poles can be comparable to being exposed to major geomagnetic storms from the Sun.

The last time a geomagnetic storm of mammoth proportions struck Earth was in 1859, an occurrence that caused telegraph machines around the globe to spark, setting papers ablaze and giving a shock to operators. In fact, the solar storm released an amount of energy equivalent to the power of 10 billion atomic bombs.

If a solar storm of the same scale were to take place today, it would lead to a loss of $600 billion to $2.6 trillion in damages in the U.S. alone, as well as knock out most of the global electrical grid, destroy satellite communications and take down the Internet, which would have dire repercussions and a devastating effect on people's daily lives.

According to Wall Street Pit, the full extent of damage caused by the direct impact of a full reversal of poles is still not known, because humanity did not exist during the last such event. Moreover, at the moment, humans have not developed any technology that can predict the time when the magnetic poles will switch.