In recent days, the inhabitants of Terzo di Città have witnessed a malfunction in public lighting. A problem that can happen sometimes, but given the news of the arrival of a geomagnetic storm, attention has shifted to this as if it were the cause of the problem. Now, a new geomagnetic storm is arriving on Earth next Thursday, but the event will not cause inconvenience or malfunctions to networks and public lighting: this is the message launched by Professor Nicola Turini of the University of Siena, in commenting on the news from the American agency Noaa. The storm, scheduled for Thursday 19 March, in fact, will be of a moderate level, with a G2 intensity, significantly lower than the geomagnetic storms that have hit the planet in the recent past.
“Geomagnetic storms are a very frequent phenomenon – comments Professor Turini – and are strictly linked to solar flares, which occur when there is an opening in a magnetic field of the sun and causes the plasma to escape. The latter is shot into space and when the Earth is in orbit, there is the possibility of a geomagnetic storm occurring. The last one occurred at the end of January and was quite powerful, but the most important one occurred in May 2024, in which the intensity was G5”.
The phenomenon is a direct consequence of a series of coronal mass ejections from the Sun occurred on March 16, but for any disruption to occur, the intensity of the storm must be classified as G5. These phenomena, however, allow the visibility of the magnificent Northern Lights even in places further south than the Scandinavian countries. So, could this be an opportunity to see a different sky?
“This March storm has a G2 power – explains Turini -. Therefore, there will be no impact and I also exclude the presence of aurora borealis which will make the sky red”.
