There is a situation of Chaos in the world when Spaceweather.com broke the news that a Solar storm is going to hit Earth today. People are terming this storm as natural but it has drastic effects. From economy to infrastructure, geomagnetic storms, also known as solar storms, can result in billions of dollars loss. Communications on Cell phones, radio, aerospace, etc. will be jammed due to this. It can even lead to power blackouts around the globe if it is severe. This means that the world will go dark for few hours. To know what is a solar storm and how much damage it can cause, Read this Article till the end!
What is a Solar Storm?
A solar storm, also known as a geomagnetic storm, is literally a storm caused by the Sun.
Earth has a Magnetosphere that protects life from harmful particles the Sun emits. This Earth’s magnetosphere is created by our Magnetic field. When a high-speed stream arrives at the planet from the Sun, it buffets the Magnetosphere. This high stream passes through Earth’s magnetic field and streamed down. This takes the shape of a “Storm” and field down to hit the atmosphere over the poles.
The solar storm can also lead to a blackout of radio and cell phone signals. It depends on the intensity of a solar storm how much longer the blackout will stay. Experts are predicting that it will last for approximately one hour in vast areas.
Due to solar storms, winds could blow at 500 kilometers per hour. This will trigger a geo-magnetic storm and auroras above high latitudes.
When Solar Storm is going to hit Earth Today?
People have been searching for when will this Solar storm hit our Earth. According to the News Agency Space weather, a massive solar storm is moving towards the Earth at a speed of 1.6 Million kilometers per hour. It is expected to hit Earth Today (Between 14–15 July).
Millions of tonnes of super-heated gas were released from the Sun a few days ago which hurled 90 Million miles toward the Earth. This eruption which results in the release of superheated gases is called a coronal mass ejection. When it hit the Magnetic field of Earth, it triggers a strong geomagnetic storm. Scientists are estimating that this geomagnetic storm that could hit the Earth any time can trigger the strongest geomagnetic storm seen for years.
Obama Administration did the most prominent work to null the effects of solar storms in the past. After Obama, neither Trump nor Biden looks eager to do much about these storms.
What are the Damages a solar storm can cause on Earth?
It can damage power girds, disturb or jam radio and cell phone signals, and power outage in vast areas. If it is a little severe, it can knock critical satellites in space of the kilter. Airline crews in the sky are also not safe from this. They can be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation due to this solar storm.
A very severe solar storm can even cause power failure around the globe.
In 2015, the US faced a blow when a solar storm knocked out Global Positioning System (GPS).
Which Part of Earth will be hit by solar storm?
Not the whole Earth will be affected by the solar storm. Only specific parts are going to face it. High latitude areas are going to be the most affected by these winds. Such areas will face more impact of storms than others Thanks to their geo characteristics. Auroras are formed which is a sign that solar radiation is high there and a geo-magnetic storm is about to make its presence felt.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have termed this solar storm as “minor” or “G-1”.
Scientists are expecting a high-speed stream of solar wind to hit the Earth’s magnetic field.
What can be done to mitigate Solar Storms damage?
Tackling a solar storm is a near to impossible task. There are always debates among the experts about how we can tackle solar storms. Different suggestions are put forward by different people. However, only 3 are mostly accepted by the experts:
1) Use Non-magnetic steel in the transformers.
2) Installment of surge protectors in the Gird.
3) Prepare utilities and required resources to bring back Power if a blackout happens.
All-inclusive, it is expected that in the mid of July, a Solar storm is going to hit Earth. It has the capacity to cause billions of dollars loss. Moreover, Power blackouts and signal jamming can happen in several parts of the world. With the advancement in nuclear technologies and the rise in global temperature, a geomagnetic storm is making the situation even worse.
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