A solar storm, classified as “severe” by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will hit the Earth’s magnetic field on Wednesday, prompting notifications to critical infrastructure operators to try to mitigate any adverse effects.

The different alert levels established by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center range from ‘G1’ (minor) to ‘G5’ (extreme); and those set for today have reached a ‘G4’ (severe) alert due to the current geomagnetic storm, which occurs when particles ejected by the Sun strike the Earth’s electromagnetic field.

On some occasions, these solar storms affect communications on Earth and only in the most extreme cases can they influence electrical systems, as well as causing greater intensity in the northern lights.

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The NOAA has reported via social media and on its website that the ‘heart’ of the solar storm that began several days ago at lower alert levels is currently passing over Earth and will continue to do so for the next few hours.

The storm is expected to reach its maximum intensity today, prompting the NOAA to raise the alert level to ‘G4’ (severe).

The US agency explained that the magnetic force of the storm has stabilized at approximately eight times the normal background strength, although it noted that this intensity is severe enough to continue reaching “severe” levels if the magnetic field rotates back in the opposite direction to Earth.

This orientation may change as the storm continues to pass, resulting in varying levels of activity, according to NOAA, which has specified that the Earth is now being affected by two of the three predicted solar storms.

Meteorologists at this agency have calculated that the latest and most powerful of these solar storms has not yet reached Earth and could do so at around 17:00 GMT today. They have specified that the disturbances occurring in Earth’s magnetic field vary in intensity—from low to severe levels—during the storm.

This agency has reported that it has notified critical infrastructure operators and authorities of this situation so that they can take the measures they deem necessary to mitigate any impact from solar storms. They have warned that these events cause an increase in voltage control problems in electrical systems, although these can be mitigated by taking preventive measures, and have also pointed to possible anomalies that may occur in satellite operations.

According to Spain’s National Geographic Institute (NGI), geomagnetic storms are disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field that last from several hours to even a few days and are caused by a sudden increase in particles emitted in solar flares that reach the magnetosphere, causing alterations in the Earth’s magnetic field.

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