The truth about whether Earth’s magnetic field will flip and cause apocalypse getty
Gigantic hole in our planet’s natural defences could increase cancer risk and wipe out satellites (Photo: Getty)

The growth of a massive and mysterious ‘anomaly’ over the Atlantic could show that Planet Earth’s life-protecting magnetic field is set to weaken in the coming centuries.

That’s the scary-sounding warning contained in a new piece of research exploring why our planet’s natural shield against solar radiation appears to be losing its strength. 

The so-called South Atlantic Anomaly has been growing at the same time as our planet’s magnetic field has been dwindling.

Stretching from Chile to Zimbabwe, the anomaly is a huge hole in the magnetic field.

This invisible gulf offers lower protection from the sun’s radiation, meaning humans who live beneath it face increased cancer danger whilst satellites travelling through face a higher risk of malfunction.

A team of international scientists have just published a paper exploring whether the growth of the hole indicates that Earth’s magnetic field is about to flip.

The white spots in this graphic show where satellites have failed

They were unable to say whether the anomaly will grow and suggested ‘it is possible that the strength of the field will further decay for several centuries’.

However, it doesn’t look likely that our magnetic forcefield will swap its poles.

Monika Korte, co-author of the study, said: ‘Based on our observations of the past 50,000 years we conclude that the South Atlantic Anomaly cannot be interpreted as a sign for the beginning of a reversal of the poles.

‘Times of the past… showed patterns of the magnetic field like today were not followed by a pole reversal. After some time the anomalies disappeared.’