Massive geomagnetic solar storm likely to hit Earth today, may cause global blackout, should you stay at home?

NEW YORK: The US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have said that a massive geomagnetic solar storm will possibly hit the Earth on Thursday (April 14, 2022), which may also cause a global blackout.

Both NASA and NOAA confirmed on Tuesday that a halo coronal mass ejection (CME) was spotted racing towards the Earth. The two agencies said that the resultant geomagnetic storm will hit Earth on Thursday (April 14).

Also, taking to Twitter, the Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India (CESSI) shared the details of this upcoming storm. “A halo CME was detected by SOHO LASCO on 11 April. Our model fit indicates a very high probability of Earth impact on 14 April 2022 with speeds ranging between 429-575 km/s+,” the CESSI tweet said.

//CESSI SPACE WEATHER BULLETIN//11 April 2022//SUMMARY: QUIET TO MODERATE SPACE WEATHER CONDITIONS// A halo CME was detected by SOHO LASCO on 11 April. Our model fit indicates a very high probability of Earth impact on 14 April, 2022 with speeds ranging between 429-575 km/s + pic.twitter.com/MRFNuLI2hS

— Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India (@cessi_iiserkol) April 11, 2022

Classification of geomagnetic storm 

It is a G2-class geomagnetic storm. In general, the geomagnetic storm is classified under 5 labels starting from G1 to G5, where G1 is a low-level storm with minimal impact and G5 is an extremely strong solar storm with severe damage potential. 

Should you stay at home?

Luckily, the Geomagnetic storm that is expected to the Earth today is not that strong but it will surely have some consequences. Theoretically, a G5-class geomagnetic storm can cause damage to satellites, disrupt GPS, mobile phone networks, internet connectivity and power grid failure. Voltage fluctuations can also take place, resulting in damaging electrical appliances. 

Further, GPS users can also face disruptions, according to Space weather physicist Tamitha Skov. According to scientists, the harmful ultraviolet, infrared and gamma radiation are all absorbed by the atmosphere and humans do not have any direct threat.

(With Agency Inputs)