NASA warns of solar storm chaos as sun’s unexpected awakening threatens global blackouts
By isabelle // 2025-09-19
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  • The sun has unexpectedly reversed a decades-long decline in activity, with NASA now warning of stronger solar winds, flares, and geomagnetic storms that threaten power grids, satellites, and GPS systems.
  • Since 2008, solar wind speed, density, temperature, and pressure have surged dramatically, signaling a long-term shift that could last for decades and endanger technology-dependent societies.
  • The current solar cycle (25) has defied predictions, arriving earlier and stronger than expected, with peak activity now forecasted between 2025 and 2026, raising the risk of catastrophic solar storms.
  • A severe geomagnetic storm could fry transformers, causing prolonged blackouts, disrupt GPS and financial systems, and even impact astronaut safety and Earth’s ozone layer, as seen in May 2024 when damages exceeded $500 million.
  • Scientists admit they don’t fully understand the sun’s long-term behavior, leaving humanity vulnerable as infrastructure remains unprepared for the escalating threat of solar storms.
For decades, scientists believed the sun was heading toward a prolonged slumber—until it suddenly reversed course. Now, NASA warns that our star is "slowly waking up," unleashing stronger solar winds, more intense flares, and potentially devastating geomagnetic storms that could cripple power grids, knock out satellites, and disrupt GPS systems worldwide. The shift began in 2008, when the sun defied expectations by ending a 20-year decline in activity. Since then, solar wind speed has increased by 6%, density by 26%, temperature by 29%, and pressure by a staggering 45%. These changes suggest a long-term trend that could last for decades, raising concerns about humanity’s growing reliance on vulnerable technology.

A solar mystery with dangerous consequences

The sun operates on an 11-year cycle of high and low activity, marked by sunspots—dark, magnetically active regions on its surface. After a weak cycle from 2008 to 2019, experts predicted another quiet period. Instead, the current cycle (number 25) has surpassed expectations, with solar maximum—peak activity—arriving earlier and stronger than forecast. "All signs were pointing to the sun going into a prolonged phase of low activity," said Jamie Jasinski, lead study author and plasma physicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "So it was a surprise to see that trend reversed. The sun is slowly waking up." This resurgence means more solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—massive bursts of plasma that can slam into Earth’s magnetic field. When they do, the results can be catastrophic. In May 2024, an extreme geomagnetic storm caused over $500 million in damages, triggered stunning auroras visible as far south as Florida, and disrupted Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network, leaving tens of thousands without internet.

The threat to modern infrastructure

The biggest risk? Power grid failures. A severe solar storm could induce electrical currents strong enough to fry transformers, leading to blackouts lasting weeks or even months. GPS systems, which rely on precise satellite signals, could also fail, disrupting everything from airline navigation to financial transactions. Astronauts in space face heightened radiation exposure, while increased ultraviolet radiation from solar particles could even affect ozone levels on Earth. Historical records show the sun has experienced mysterious lulls before, most notably the Maunder Minimum (1645–1715), a 70-year period of near-silence that coincided with the "Little Ice Age," a time of bitterly cold winters in Europe. Yet scientists still don’t understand why these shifts happen. "The longer-term trends are a lot less predictable and are something we don’t completely understand yet," Jasinski admitted.

Preparing for an unpredictable future

With solar maximum expected to peak between 2025 and 2026, the worst may be yet to come. NASA’s upcoming missions—including the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) and the Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1)—aim to improve forecasting. But for now, the sun’s behavior remains a puzzle. One thing is clear: humanity’s technological infrastructure was not built to withstand prolonged solar assaults. As the sun’s activity continues to rise, the risk of a crippling solar storm grows, leaving governments, businesses, and individuals scrambling to prepare for a threat they once thought was fading into history. Sources for this article include: DailyMail.co.uk NASA.gov LiveScience.com Space.com
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