How a Geomagnetic Storm Can Affect Your Life
Only when a geomagnetic storm affects our livelihoods do we begin to appreciate its power and our fragility. A geomagnetic storm alters our way of life by damaging the satellite technology that orbits our planet. For example, when satellite systems fail, airliners can no longer use weather data to plan safe travel routes. As a result, all fights are grounded. This may have happened in October 2011 when the Anik F2 satellite failed due to an “anomaly”, as cited by owner Telesat, Canada. The satellite failure grounded all flights to and from the 25 communities in the territory of Nunavut, Canada. The technology failure also closed all banks and ATMs, restricted retail transactions to cash, and reduced labor productivity.
Our lives have become intertwined with technology. While in most cases this has created efficiencies, it relies heavily on redundant technology systems. If there are none, then you are risking a lot. But even if there are redundant systems, the example above illustrates that failures do occur.
Most of the time we would take solar storms for granted, without fully appreciating their power. That changed on May 19, 1998, when the Galaxy IV satellite failed after experiencing a geomagnetic storm generated by the sun. Galaxy IV carried the signals of more than 90% of North American pagers and several major broadcast networks, including US National Public Radio (NPR) and CBS. This failure also left radio and television programmers struggling, doctors out of touch with hospitals, and destroyed critical components of electrical power grids. Experts have determined that the Galaxy IV was the victim of a solar storm.
A massive solar storm occurs when there is a huge explosion of plasma from the solar corona, also known as a coronal mass ejection or CME solar flare. If a large enough CME solar flare is directed towards the earth, it would result in the total failure of all satellite communications, resulting in a loss of air transport, communications, banking machines, weather reports, time synchronization, etc. The good news is that you can prepare for this type of geomagnetic storm by developing a plan, stocking up on emergency food, and obtaining an emergency kit.
Although you may think, you cannot do anything about a geomagnetic storm; you can. Always be aware of your dependence on technology and the ways it affects your life. And prepare for any eventuality by storing your emergency food and emergency kit, in case our connected world goes offline.