The sun unleashed a trio of solar flares on Wednesday and Thursday, coinciding with widespread service outages experienced by AT&T customers across the United States.
However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has dismissed any correlation between the two events.
The first two solar flares erupted in quick succession, with the initial one peaking on Wednesday at 6:07 pm EST, followed by the second at approximately 1:32 am EST on Thursday, as per NOAA's preliminary alert. The second flare's timing coincided with the reported loss of cellular service by thousands of AT&T customers, as reported by Reuters.
This led to speculation that the two incidents might be interconnected. However, NOAA clarified in their initial alert, "While solar flares can affect communication systems, radar, and the Global Positioning System, based on the intensity of the eruption and associated phenomena, it is highly unlikely that these flares contributed to the widely reported cellular network outages."
A third, more substantial flare erupted on Thursday around 5:34 pm EST, marking the largest of the three within a 24-hour span, according to NOAA. Despite its size, this flare posed no immediate threat to the public.
AT&T, in response to the outage, stated, "Based on our initial review, we believe that today's outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used as we were expanding our network." The company assured that if a solar flare had indeed disrupted the network, it would have been evident.
The possibility of Earth being struck by a solar storm is significant, with potentially catastrophic consequences. In a worst-case scenario, disruptions to Earth's magnetic field could obliterate all above-ground electrical infrastructure. This could prove fatal for those reliant on electricity for survival, including individuals with pacemakers and those dependent on a constant supply of medications and food, which would halt production and transportation due to the widespread infrastructure collapse.
Mitigation strategies exist for such a devastating event, but their implementation requires legislative action and efficient use of tax dollars. However, in the event of a severe solar storm striking Earth, individuals may find themselves largely on their own.
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