Solar storm may hit Earth! Double whammy to destroy Internet, electricity infra grid

A solar storm is likely coming of such great magnitude that it will cause immense damage on Earth in terms of loss of lives and economic damage as the Sun is getting into its active cycle again.

The solar storm is likely to destroy Internet and electricity infra and change life on Earth forever - a true apocalypse. (Pixabay)

A prediction, based on research, has it that a massive solar storm, dubbed a solar superstorm, is likely to hit Earth in the near future and it will be catastrophic for humanity. A solar storm is a powerful jet of mass and energy shot from the Sun and if Earth finds itself in the line of fire, it will suffer consequences that have never been seen before. This kind of a massive solar storm can easily strike a double blow and knock out the Internet and electricity. From satellites circling the Earth, to sea cables underneath the oceans and electrical infrastructure on the ground, all of it is under threat. And how big is the threat? Well, according to research, the Sun has been benign for decades and now it is waking up from slumber and a solar storm is likely coming soon.

While we all live with a slow internet on a daily basis, and power is knocked out in similar fashion everywhere, the thing with a solar storm is that it will knock out the infrastructure for months. In short, what we are staring at is an Internet apocalypse!

What proof is there that a solar storm of such a nature with a potential for wreaking such havoc is actually coming? In "Solar Superstorms: Planning for an Internet Apocalypse", a research paper by Indian origin scientist Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi of the University of California, Irvine, and VMware Research, has stated that there is a 1.6 to 12% chance of a solar storm happening soon - in the next decade itself! Jyothi made a clarion call for all nations to start preparing here and now as later it will be too late.

How badly will a solar storm of this nature hit Earth? The Indian researcher has said that the potential of such a solar storm to wreak havoc on Earth is massive. Jyothi went to the extent of comparing the solar storm to a black swan event in terms of the impact on humanity like the Covid-19 pandemic - in terms of death, destruction of economies and altering forever how people live. In short, it will alter the way we live and is likely to cause many deaths and huge economic losses.

Considering the fact that humanity is so dependent on electricity and the Internet to carry out each and every task nowadays, from hospitals to even the daily commute, the destruction potential can be well imagined.