Merak village, Ladakh:
American scientists have warned that a massive solar storm could hit Earth and affect electronic communications. What will be the impact on India?
To understand the situation, NDTV’s science editor Pallava Bagla traveled to the highlands of Ladakh, where India observes the sun, and spoke to Dr. Annapurni Subramanian, director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
A solar storm is a sudden explosion of particles, energy, magnetic fields, and matter that is blasted into the solar system by the sun.
An incoming solar storm could disrupt communications and satellites. Indian scientists are monitoring the incident, and experts from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said they have informed Indian satellite operators to take all precautions. The next few days will be crucial for Earth as a storm heads toward the blue planet.
“The (solar) flare that occurred a few days ago is similar to the one that occurred in May in terms of intensity,” Dr. Subramanian said.
“So we would expect some interference to occur in the magnetosphere. But it will take a few days before it hits the Earth, so we want to wait and see. We’ll see if something happens tonight.” “We will take some action tomorrow night,” she said. Added.
“The prediction is that it may or may not happen. We’ll have to wait and see,” Dr. Subramanian said.
A strong solar storm in May produced aurora borealis across the Northern Hemisphere.
When a solar storm is directed toward Earth, it can cause a large disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field called a geomagnetic storm, which can cause radio interference, power outages, and beautiful aurora borealis.
However, they do not directly harm anyone on Earth, as Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere protect us from the worst storms.