The cause of these future problems will be the solar storm expected to hit our planet and wipe out the Internet infrastructure within the next two years, according to information reported by the Washington Post.
The article in question is based on a document referring to a geomagnetic storm that occurred on Earth in September 1859, following the largest solar storm of all time. At the time, this geomagnetic upheaval caused simultaneous interruptions to electricity supplies from Paris in France to Boston in the USA.
While no major solar storm has occurred since 2012, the next one is expected in 2025, when the sun will reach its maximum energy.
Whenever a solar flare occurs, it brings a magnetically-charged wind that can strike the Earth. The encounter with our planet’s magnetosphere generates geomagnetic storms which, in the worst-case scenario, can cause serious disruption to power grids, communications and navigation systems and other electronic equipment.
Scientists predict that the electromagnetic radiation generated by the next solar flare could lead to the complete collapse of Internet systems in countries around the world. Not to mention the dangers to humanity of the gamma and ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun if they are too powerful.
Earlier this spring, Nasa announced that it had developed Dagger (Deep Learning Geomagnetic Perturbation), a predictive system combining artificial intelligence and satellite data that can predict 30 minutes in advance where a solar storm will hit the Earth. A timeframe that can make it possible to secure certain essential equipment and infrastructures. “The risk of geomagnetic storms and devastating effects on our society increases as we approach the next ‘solar maximum’, a peak in the Sun’s 11-year activity cycle, which is expected to occur in 2025,” Nasa confirmed at the time.
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