Why do most people think there’s an internet apocalypse on the horizon and claim it could happen in 2025? Will a solar flare hit Earth in 2025, as it reportedly did in 1859, the Carrington Event?
The Carrington Event happened at the beginning of September 1859, a few months after the solar maximum. It was the biggest geomagnetic storm ever recorded in history.
People are panicking because they think a Carrington Event 2025 is on the horizon. But should we lose sleep over it? What is NASA and other reputable scientists and scientific institutions worldwide saying?
Here, we will reveal all we know about the solar flare predicted to hit our planet in 2025. Continue reading.
Will Solar Flare Hit Earth In 2025?
Asking if a solar flare will hit our planet soon is like asking, “Will the Carrington Event happen again?” Solar flares may likely hit Earth. But there is no guarantee that it will happen in 2025.
There are claims that NASA has predicted the arrival of a solar flare in 2025 or even a year before. But while the space agency has been vocal about solar flares and how they could be dangerous once they pass the Earth’s defense, it hasn’t said anything about a possible internet apocalypse in 2025.
Another article NASA published that is fueling the rumors of solar flares hitting our planet in 2025 is the one on the NASA-enabled artificial intelligence that can deliver predictions about solar flares and notify us before they hit our planet.
What Is A Solar Flare?
Solar flare is the biggest explosive event that can occur in our solar system. In this event, magnetic energy builds up in the sun.
Over there, there’ll be an intense burst of the magnetic energy that has been building up over the years. When it’s released, that’s when the solar outburst takes place.
This action throws off whole waves of energy moving and traveling outward. It then impacts other bodies in the solar system, including our planet, Earth.
The interaction between the sun’s electromagnetic waves and Earth’s magnetic field doesn’t produce a desirable outcome. Instead, electric currents flow in our atmosphere’s upper layer.
They also heat the air, causing auroras over polar regions. Our GPS and radio signals are not spared either. The heat disrupts the radio signal and makes GPS inaccurate. It can even knock down some of our satellites in the lower orbit.
Reasons You Shouldn’t Lose Sleep Over Claims That Solar Flare Will Hit Earth in 2025
If you’re among those worried that the solar storm is coming and July 2025 is the date it will strike, here are some of the reasons you shouldn’t lose sleep over such claims.
1: The claim lacks scientific backing:
Solar flare isn’t something anyone should joke about if we’re being sincere. The sun has what it takes to kill our planet.
There’s a possibility of a solar flare hitting Earth. However, July 2025 hasn’t been chosen as the likely date this would happen. The claim isn’t even science-backed. So, why should people take it seriously?
Scientists have successfully created an AI model that utilizes satellite data of solar wind to generate solar forecasts of solar storms. The program can detect the solar storm 30 minutes before it hits and warns stakeholders in key industries to protect their assets.
The artificial intelligence model can detect the solar storm minutes before it hits, not two years or a few months. So, claims that solar fare is set to hit our planet in 2025 are just mere speculations. They lack scientific backing.
2: NASA is yet to issue a warning about the impending internet apocalypse:
NASA is an agency that’s always at the forefront of issues regarding the solar system or space. It was established for this purpose.
The effects of a major solar storm on telecommunication systems and the electric grid can be massive. It can set us back by over 20 years.
But the shocking thing is NASA hasn’t said anything about solar flares hitting Earth in 2025. The rumors about solar storms flying around stemmed from a NASA article on solar flares.
The agency didn’t mention the internet apocalypse or that solar flares will hit our planet in 2025. Instead, it discussed how measures are being implemented to detect possible solar storms before they strike.
The Reason Many Believed A Solar Flare Would Hit Earth in 2025?
NASA’s article about solar storms was one of the reasons people started panicking about an incoming solar flare. But then, the article didn’t state that solar flare would hit our dear planet in July 2025 or even in 2025.
The article only detailed how NASA planned to detect solar storms and warn those in critical sectors like telecommunication and the power so they could take precautionary measures to reduce or avoid damage to their systems.
Other events amplify online fear about solar flares hitting Earth soon.
Claims about the sun’s activity peaking in 2024:
A group of researchers who had earlier issued an alternative solar forecast that turned out to be much better than NASA’s claimed the sun will reach the peak of its current activity in 2024. However, they claim even if the sun reaches its peak, Earth will only feel the threats of its wrath for the next five years.
The researchers didn’t say we will experience solar flares in 2025. Instead, they claim the sun’s current activity will peak in 2024. Scientists usually expect a major solar storm to arrive when sun activities reach their peak. The researchers didn’t even mention the damage the solar flare could cause to planet Earth. They didn’t mention anything related to the internet apocalypse, as many have claimed.
Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi’s article on a possible internet apocalypse:
Abdu Jyothi has made it clear in an interview with the Washington Post that she regrets using the word “internet apocalypse.” Her work was one of the research that created some unexplained panic worldwide.
At the popular SIGCOMM 2021 data communication conference, Abdu Jyothi, a computer science professor at the University of California, Irvine, presented a paper titled “Solar Superstorms: Planning for an Internet Apocalypse.”
Abdu Jyothi didn’t also state in her work that a solar flare would hit Earth around 2025. She only shared what might happen if a solar storm hits Earth.
Her work focused on the damage a fast-moving cloud of magnetized solar particles could cause to the global internet.
Her research looked into the blackout-causing solar storm. She claimed even if power returned in a few hours or days after the solar storm, there would still be a mass internet outage.
What Can Happen If A Solar Flare Hit Earth in 2025?
A major solar flare could wreak havoc on our planet whether it strikes in 2024, 2025, or the future. NASA and other scientists are weary of the damage solar storms can cause.
A solar flare would set us back by 20 years. It would destroy our telecommunication systems and the power grid.
What transpired in Quebec in March 1989 is still fresh in our minds. There was a strong solar flare. But after that, another burst happened. The second burst caused a release of over a billion tons of gas directly to our planet.
People in the area where this occurred experienced a 12-hour blackout. Another flare happened a few months later, which was massive this time.
The damage the solar flare caused affected the entire world. It destroyed microchips across the globe, leaving Quebec in darkness for the second time.
Is Solar Flare Harmful?
Flares are destructive but more harmful to our technology (telecommunication systems, power grids, satellites) than us.
In winter 2022, the world witnessed what happened to Starlink’s satellites. A solar storm knocked a fleet of Starlink mini-satellites off the orbit.
The destruction would be massive if a solar flare similar to the Carrington Event hits our planet. We’ll be exposed to massive radiation that can alter our DNA. But thanks to our planet’s magnetic field, we have adequate protection from the harmful effects of radiation.
The people who we should be feeling for are the astronauts. They will be exposed to this intense radiation, as they’re not on Earth, so its magnetic field won’t protect them.
Note also that there won’t be TV, internet and GPS. And we could live this way for several years.
How Can We Prevent Solar Flare From Damaging Our Technologies?
Power outages and no internet are two scenarios that can have a massive impact on humanity. We need electricity to meet diverse needs daily.
Lack of internet means getting information from other parts of the world would be challenging. Additionally, we will have more people dealing with boredom or anxiety, and even worse.
But we can protect our technology from being damaged by solar storms. The first step we can take is shoring up our underground cables, power grids, and satellites. This will protect them against being overloaded.
Another important step we need to take is to monitor the solar storms. It is impossible to track them like hurricanes, but we can get a notification of their impending release two days before they strike.
Can We Survive Without The Internet Should A Solar Flare Hit Earth?
Yes, we can survive. The internet isn’t food or water. You can survive and stay active for some days without food and water.
Humans are unique and can adapt to different situations and places. That is one of the things that separate us from animals.
So, we can survive without the internet we have been accustomed to. But we would need to adjust. We would have to change our mode of communication and seek other means to entertain ourselves.
For instance, since there is no means to stream movies, you can visit the cinema whenever you crave such entertainment.
Our method of communication will have to change. Since there is no more face-to-face interaction via video calls, we can switch to a more traditional means of communication.
We will use phone calls, letters, and text messages or visit the person. Any other means of communication that doesn’t involve the internet would be acceptable.
The library will help provide information. Since we will no longer have the means to get ebooks, we’ll return to printed books.
How Should We Prepare For Solar Flare?
There is nothing we can do to stop solar flare. Natural disasters happen on their own accord. However, there are steps we can take to prepare for such an event. Check them out below:
Have a personal emergency kit:
Getting an emergency kit with valuable offline resources is an important thing to do. You can keep items like a survival guide, maps, or contact information in it.
If you are in a difficult situation, visit your survival guide to get ideas on overcoming the challenge. The map will help you find your way back home or a safe location when you lose your way.
Build your library:
If you don’t live near the library, build one yourself. Have a physical library at home. You can store different books and resource materials in your library.
Engage others in your community:
Since you know a thing or two about how to survive the internet apocalypse, share it with others in your community. This is a crucial time for community engagement.
Understand your environment and support organizations:
Understand where to find emergency services, local resources, and community organizations that can help in need. You’ll certainly need them to survive when the internet apocalypse strikes, as Abdu Jyothi claims.
Establish communication plans:
Have contacts you can reach out to and vice versa when the internet apocalypse begins. Those in your contact list can be your relatives, friends, colleagues, and neighbors.
Develop crucial survival skills:
What if someone gets injured and you can’t ask for emergency services immediately? Do you know the first aid treatment given to an injured person? This is one of the critical skills to learn or have in an internet apocalypse. You can save lives with it.
It would help if you also considered learning other survival skills too. Learn how to hunt, cook without gas, or utilize available resources.
How Can Businesses Survive If A Solar Flare Hits Earth?
It is not like the solar flare would damage businesses’ physical structure. That isn’t the threat solar flares pose. Instead, it would damage the power grid and telecommunications.
A solar storm could cause an internet apocalypse. It could lead to an internet-less future.
We can all agree that the internet has significantly impacted businesses on a global scale. It has been the artery of businesses, enabling support teams to interact with customers.
On the other hand, customers can make online transactions seamlessly, navigate the company website to find products, and place an order. But with the internet gone, businesses will lose this pivotal artery called the internet.
The lack of internet will affect several businesses. But that doesn’t mean you should stop running your business. Instead, try adjusting your business to suit the reality on the ground.
Move your business operations to offline mode. Additionally, you can advertise your business in newspapers, magazines, and flyers just to let your customers and prospects know you’re still open for business.
Another essential step you should take is to encourage offline transactions and interact with your customers face-to-face. After all, it’s not your fault that the internet has been destroyed. The solar flare, a natural disaster, is responsible.
Conclusion
So, will a solar flare hit Earth in 2025? There are rumors that a solar flare will strike in 2025; some even claim it could strike as early as 2024.
Unfortunately, claims that solar flare will strike Earth in 2025 seem like guesswork from people misled by related research they read. There is no scientific backup to this claim.
NASA has not officially warned that a solar flare will hit our planet in 2025. The organization has only spoken about its artificial intelligence model, designed to detect solar flares a few minutes before it strikes.
The Carrington Event has shown that solar flares do happen. But we aren’t confident about whether the flare will happen in 2025.
