  An explanation is suggested for the north-south asymmetry of the polar
magnetic field reversal in the current cycle of solar activity. The
contribution of the Babcock-Leighton mechanism to the poloidal field generation
is estimated using sunspot data for the current activity cycle. Estimations are
performed separately for the northern and southern hemispheres. The
contribution of the northern hemisphere exceeded considerably that of the
southern hemisphere during the initial stage of the cycle. This is the probable
reason for the earlier reversal of the northern polar field. The estimated
contributions of the Babcock-Leighton mechanism are considerably smaller than
similar estimations for the previous activity cycles. A relatively weak (<1G)
large-scale polar field can be expected for the next activity minimum.
