Rumors of a global internet outage due to a severe solar storm are swirling online, but how true are they?
As many of us rely on internet access on a daily basis for our work, entertainment and communication needs, the rumor of an internet apocalypse alarmed many.
In June, the possibility of losing the internet for months was circulating. But the possibility itself first gained public attention in 2021, when computer scientist Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi of the University of California, Irvine, warned that a catastrophic solar storm could occur within the next 10 years.
The space agency NASA seems to be taking the risk seriously and has launched the Parker Solar Probe (PSP), which has revealed clues about the Sun’s atmosphere after successfully navigating through the powerful solar winds generated there.
What is a solar storm and how could it cause an internet apocalypse?
A solar storm refers to the atmospheric effects we experience on Earth that originate from the sun, usually caused by solar flares.
During such storms, a stream of electromagnetic field is directed towards the Earth, which causes the aurora borealis.
NASA believes that solar storms occur in an 11-year cycle with varying frequency. Their severity can also vary, with stronger geomagnetic storms causing disruptions to satellite, radio and internet services.
A 2011 geomagnetic storm knocked out radio signals in southern China, meanwhile, in 1859 a particularly intense storm caused auroras to appear in skies around the world.
If such an event were to occur today, there could be a worldwide power outage causing disruption for months, with effects predicted to be 20 times that of a catastrophic hurricane due to its impact on the supply chain of essential products such as foods and medicines.
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