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Originally posted by amehrich
What was catastrophic then and now could be quite different.
Did prior civilizations that endured this have 100 story skyscrapers and cities with millions of people inhabiting them? Current population density and building architecture could make a widespread event more costly in terms of human life then in generations past.
At present, the overall geomagnetic field is becoming weaker at a rate which would, if it continues, cause the dipole field to temporarily collapse by 3000–4000 AD. The South Atlantic Anomaly is believed by some to be a product of this. The present strong deterioration corresponds to a 10–15% decline over the last 150 years and has accelerated in the past several years; however, geomagnetic intensity has declined almost continuously from a maximum 35% above the modern value achieved approximately 2000 years ago. The rate of decrease and the current strength are within the normal range of variation, as shown by the record of past magnetic fields recorded in rocks.
The Earth's magnetic north pole is drifting from northern Canada towards Siberia with a presently accelerating rate — 10km per year at the beginning of the 20th century, up to 40km per year in 2003.[3] It is also unknown if this drift will continue to accelerate.