The Sun has become more active lately, which may allow a once in a century event to disrupt our access to the internet.

Scientists have known for quite some time that the sun having an extreme solar storm  will affect electrical grids causing prolonged power outages making communication very difficult. 

Earlier this month at SIGCOMM 2021 conference, the meeting of a data communications special interest group which specializes in the field of communication networks and computer networks) warned that data suggests a large solar storm could emerge some time in 2021 that would be extremely destructive of our modern way of life. 

During the conference, Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi  from the University of California presented “Solar Superstorms: Planning of an internet apocalypse.”  While on the surface, the clams may seem bleak, Jyothi discovered that if this event were to happen, local power grids and the internet would be relatively undisturbed, with long undersea cables that connect the continents are the ones at the most risk during a solar superstorm. While local internet would be operational, we likely wouldn’t be able to connect with other continents. Additionally, nations at higher altitudes would likely be affected worse.

“What really got me thinking about this is that with the pandemic we saw how unprepared the world was,” said Jytohi. “There was no protocol to deal with it effectively, and it’s the same for our internet resilience, our infrastructure is not prepared for a large-scale solar event” 

With the possibility of internet failure on the horizon, some students and staff are considering how such an event might impact them.

 “A lot of what we have in modern day society is thanks to the internet for making communication and globalization easier,” said German teacher Ms. Solee 

Sophomore Brycen Grant said a wide-scale loss of internet access would have a “major effect on culture because a lot of people talk through the internet and also affect the culture of the internet. This could also be good for small towns so they get together as a community.”

“During the day I would be playing hoops or football,” said student Jeremiah Costillo, “but the night time would be challenging.”