What happens during a solar storm?ĭuring a solar storm, the sun ejects large amounts of electrons and protons, causing a cloud of cosmic rays to fly toward the Earth.īy deforming the Earth's magnetic field, solar storms amplify the polar lights visible on the edges of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. A very strong electromagnetic interference could completely paralyze the sensitive system.Īnd should the internet go down for just one day in the United States, the damage would be an estimated $7 billion (€6.9 billion) in the US alone.
She said our internet infrastructure is not designed to withstand severe solar storms.Ĭommunication via unprotected satellites (like GPS navigation systems) and undersea cable repeaters, which are installed every 50 to 150 kilometers to amplify communication signals over long connection routes, is especially vulnerable. Our existing internet communication structure is vulnerable to violent solar storms, according to a 2021 University of California-Irvine study.Īccording to author Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi, if a particularly strong solar storm crashed into the Earth, it would have the power to not only disrupt power grids and satellites, but also to paralyze the internet long term. The current one will peak in 2025, scientists say, by which time flares will be more intense and extreme. Solar storms make northern lights, like these pictured in Norway, much easier to detect in the night sky Peak in 2025 But it would be a mistake to fully dismiss them as mere alarmism. Every now and then a solar storm rushes to Earth, prompting a barrage of articles warning about potential disruption of the global power supply and phone and satellite communication. In other words, the world isn't going to end anytime soon, even if some news reports make it sound that way. Most will hardly notice - only a few will register it as a luminous natural spectacle.
The current solar storm is classified as G1, according to the NOAA. Level 5 corresponds to a very strong effect, while level 1 corresponds to a "minor" effect. The G stands for the geomagnetic effects triggered by the plasma cloud. The intensity of solar storms are classified into five levels by the US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): G1-G5.
If you live close to the Arctic or Antarctic Circle, you might be able to see northern or southern lights sometime over the next two days, and the Earth could experience some minor geomagnetic effects.
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