Most estimates for the duration of a polarity transition are between 1,000 and 10,000 years, but some estimates are as quick as a human lifetime. Studies of 16.7-million-year-old lava flows on Steens Mountain, Oregon, indicate that the Earth's magnetic field is capable of shifting at a rate of up to 6 degrees per day.

How often does Earth's polarity switch?

The poles have swapped, reversing north and south, many times over the planet's history. Within the last 20 million years, Earth has fallen into the pattern of pole reversal every 200,000 to 300,000 years, and between successful swaps, the poles sometimes even attempt to reverse and then snap back into place.

Will the Earth's magnetic pole switch?

Since the forces that generate our magnetic field are constantly changing, the field itself is also in continual flux, its strength waxing and waning over time. This causes the location of Earth's magnetic north and south poles to gradually shift, and to even completely flip locations every 300,000 years or so.