A giant weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field is now half the size of Europe

Earth’s magnetic shield is shifting in dramatic ways. New data from ESA’s Swarm satellites show that the South Atlantic Anomaly — a vast weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field — has grown by nearly half the size of continental Europe since 2014. Even more striking, a region southwest of Africa has begun weakening even faster in recent years, hinting at unusual activity deep within Earth’s molten outer core.