A new study has found that Earth’s geographic poles may shift their positions due to alarming levels of ice melt caused by climate change.

• Geographical poles are the points at which the Earth’s axis of rotation intersects the surface. 
• The motion of the Earth's rotational pole with respect to the crust is called polar motion. 

Why Poles are Shifting? 

• Earth’s rotation is not perfectly stable. It wobbles due to changes in how mass is spread across the planet. 
• These wobbles can come from:
  • Fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, or ocean currents
  • Core- mantle dynamic 
  • Fusion of glacial caps and glaciers
    • According to the study, melting ice and shifting ocean mass could cause the North and South Poles to move by 12 to 27 meters by 2100. 
    • The leading cause is ice loss in Greenland and Antarctica, followed by smaller glaciers.

Effects of Shifting Poles

• Navigation Problems: Shifting poles can affect satellites and space telescopes, which depend on Earth’s rotation for accurate positioning.
• Longer Days: Melting ice moves mass from the poles to the equator, making Earth slightly more flattened. 
  • This slows down its spin, causing longer days. 
    • Since 2000, days have been getting longer by 1.33 milliseconds every 100 years, faster than in the past century.