The White House is now prepping up for a disastrous solar storm that could allegedly cause power interruptions for months across the globe. The massive electromagnetic pulse from solar flares could potentially eliminate power grids causing an end to the modern world, making cellphones, credit cards, and the Internet good for nothing.
According to the 2008 National Academy of Sciences, in the United States alone, the cost would go as high as US$2.6 trillion. Furthermore, experts warned of electrical failure that could last for months if a severe solar storm hits the planet, and this can last longer if transformers are also destroyed.
Scientists are estimating a 12 per cent chance that in 2022, a solar flare would hit Earth. The White House is now starting to create an emergency plan. In an interview with Gizmodo with John Kappenman, a space weather consultant, "Frankly, this could be one of the most severe natural disasters that the country, and major portions of the world, could face."
The plan will form a space weather action scheme. Just like the Richter magnitude scale for earthquakes, the six-step plan will be used to detect the threat of catastrophic events. New and more advanced satellites will be placed to space and devices on the ground to prompt early and adequate warnings, as current devices of forecasters today can only give 15 to 60 minutes forewarning.
The government had already taken actions by replacing satellites and had started devising for ways to protect power grids. "This is a real and present danger, this is a real threat," assistant director of Washington Post said. Experts admitted that "much more needs to be done."
Solar storm also called solar flare results from explosions in the sun's atmosphere because of magnetic energy accumulation and is threatening Earth every 100 years. The last recorded solar storm that hit earth was in 1859 known as the Carrington event. It caused telegraphs to flare up, setting several telegraph offices on fire, and power interruption across Europe and North America. While in 2012, a disastrous solar flare almost came close to Earth.
