The strongest solar storm in the last 20 years hits the Earth. How it could affect mobile phones and GPS devices

Earth could be hit by an unusual, very severe solar storm. Authorities in the United States issued a geomagnetic storm warning, the first alert of this type since 2005, when our planet was hit by the highest dose of radiation in the last 50 years. This time, however, the storm could affect GPS devices, but also other electrical networks, such as mobile phones or laptops. US officials have observed plasma eruptions on the surface of the Sun and fear that the effects of the storm could persist until the end of the week.

By the Observator editorial team on 10.05.2024, 12:56

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) raised the geomagnetic solar storm alert level from level 3 (moderate) to level 4 (severe) on Thursday, as more solar flares are headed for Earth.

The solar storm could cause problems with GPS, disrupt satellite communications and affect high-frequency radio waves.

“Warnings at this level are very rare,” NOAA said in the warning. “This is an unusual event.”

The biggest solar storm in two decades

This is the first “severe” geomagnetic storm warning issued since January 2005.

In the past 24 hours, two massive sunspots have combined to cause at least two X-class (the largest) and several M-class (second-largest) solar flares. The newly discovered sunspot has a diameter 16 times that of the Earth, writes the New York Post.

A sunspot has been releasing coronal mass ejections for the past week and continues to be active. Five such ejections will come into “collision” with the Earth from Friday to Sunday inclusive.

“These two groups of sunspots are magnetically complex and much larger than Earth. Together, they have been the source of frequent M-class (minor to moderate) flares,” the Space Weather Prediction Center said. “RGN 3664 (combined sunspot region) continues to increase in magnitude.”

The geomagnetic storm could affect telephones, radio waves and GPS devices

The solar storm could affect radio waves in several areas for several hours. It could also trigger false alarms on security devices and affect GPS systems.

Also, during the solar storm, residents of northern California, Oklahoma, Alabama and Virginia could see the northern lights.

Meteorologists estimate that these conditions occur for about 60 days in total in any 11-year solar cycle.

NOAA says scientists have observed only three severe geomagnetic storms since the current solar cycle began in December 2019.

“The last Severe (observed) geomagnetic storm was on March 23, 2024, and the last extreme was the Halloween storm in October 2003,” SWPC said.