America issues blackout warning: First Geomagnetic storm in 20 years could knock out Power Grid, GPS

US government warns of major geomagnetic storm, potential infrastructure damage and disruption of GPS systems

The US government has recently issued a warning about a major geomagnetic storm that is expected to hit the country soon. This solar storm has become a trending topic as it has ignited the Aurora Borealis in the skies across the UK and some parts of the US as well. The storm is predicted to cause major damage to infrastructure by potentially knocking out power grids and disrupting GPS systems. The government has advised the public of “at least five earth-directed coronal mass ejections.”

NOAA issues rare alert for supercharged solar storm causing voltage control problems and power grid impact..(Chris Granger /The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP) (AP)

US warns of complete blackout due to solar activity

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a rare alert, warning the public about a supercharged solar storm—the first of its kind since 2003—that struck Earth on Friday. This storm is likely to cause widespread voltage control problems, potentially affecting the power grid. The impact of the storm is expected to last throughout the weekend. Within the US government's classification system, this severe geomagnetic storm (G4) is ranked second in severity.

The storm is caused by "a large sunspot cluster” that “has produced several moderate to strong solar flares,” according to NOAA which also confirms the diameter of the sunspot to be about “16x the diameter of Earth.”

Communication interruption due to solar storm

The radiation effect, which started on Friday, will last until Saturday and could extend into Sunday as well. The last time such a storm swept the Earth was in October 2003. Besides impacting daily livelihood, property, and infrastructure, the G4 storm has the ability to disrupt communication lines, satellite interactions, GPS, and even high-frequency radio communication, says NOAA.

Why it happens?

Apart from triggering communication disruption, this type of solar activity also causes the Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights. The mesmerising colour palette of the sky, which has left the world in awe, typically occurs near Earth’s poles where the magnetic force is strongest. However, during such solar activity, when supercharged solar particles collide with Earth's magnetic surface, it results 5 times more spectacular display. In the same way, the ionosphere is affected by radiation when it hits the Earth, which can cause changes that directly affect satellites or other spacecraft that are in orbit, such as changing their orientation or damaging their electronics.