Northern Lights set to dazzle UK this week due to possible ‘Severe’ geomagnetic storm

Geomagnetic storms are disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field that last minutes or hours and are caused by Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and solar flares.

It has been reported that there are three CMEs heading towards Earth from the Sun.

The National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who measure the strength of these storms, say that there is chance of a Strong G3 or even Severe G4 geomagnetic storm being triggered especially on Wednesday into Thursday.

Although dangerous for astronauts, geomagnetic storms are not harmful to humans as Earth’s atmosphere protects us from the radiation.

However, these storms can sometimes disrupt satellites and also different forms of electronic devices, such as phones.

For example, in 2017 two massive solar flares fired out from the surface of the Sun disrupted devices such as GPS navigation systems on Earth.

And the Victorians also struggled with the effect of space weather in 1859 when a huge solar eruption caused a geomagnetic storm that interfered with railway signalling and telegraph lines. This was known as the Carrington Event.

The KP index is an alternative measure of geomagnetic activity extending from KP1 to KP9. It can be be used to denote the southern extent of the aurora. This storm is classed as a rare KP8. This means the aurora could be visible across many parts of the UK including the south in the nights to come.

There may be effects on power grids and satellite navigation.