NASA, NOAA, and other space agencies warn that solar flares could worsen as early as 2024. Previously, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center said that the Solar Cycle 25 would peak around July 2025.
In this photo illustration, an error message on a web browser shows that the Facebook website is down on October 04, 2021 in San Anselmo, California. Social media applications Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are experiencing a global outage that started before 9 a.m. (P.S.T.) on Monday morning.
However, the organization changed its prediction based on their bew database; saying that the Solar Cycle 25's peak could happen during early to mid-2024.
After hearing this news, netizens shared their concerns regarding the rumored "internet apocalypse" that stronger solar flares could cause.
Solar Flare 2024: What Would Happen if Global Internet Suddenly Stopped
To be clear, the internet apocalypse is just a rumor that netizens started to spread after hearing the news about more intense solar flares in 2024.
Although this speculation hasn't been confirmed by NASA and other reliable space agencies, it wouldn't hurt to know what would happen if the internet across the globe really stopped working.
BBC Science Focus provided what would happen if the web really broke down:
After Days
If the internet really stopped working, social media sites, such as Facebook, X (formerly called Twitter), Google, etc., would lose a hefty amount of money in their advertising revenue. Aside from them, businesses that rely heavily on the internet would break down. These include call centers, news agencies, ISPs (internet service providers), and other companies.
After Weeks
Since modern power grids across the globe also rely on the internet, each country's national grid would become unbalanced, which could cause global blackouts. Gas pipelines will also be impacted.
After Months
Since gas pipelines will no longer be operational at this point, gas stations will now have issues. Without fuel, supermarkets will not be able to deliver the food that people need. Major distribution depots will also be affected, causing chaos in different countries.
After Years
If the internet doesn't go back after a few years, then countries are expected to re-create basic landline telephone networks so they can rebuild the society. However, this will be a hard thing to do because of the death toll from cold, unrest, and starvation. Experts said that the world at this point will be like in the 1930s.
Read Also: Internet Too Slow? Your ISP Could Be Limiting Your WiFi's Speed-Here's How To Know
Preparing for Stronger Solar Flares
In this handout photo from the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory, a major solar eruption is shown in progress October 29, 2003. This X18 flare is the strongest flare since August 16, 1989 when an X20 flare occurred. A large coronal mass ejection has been hurled towards the Earth and could hit the Earth's magnetosphere by October 30.
Before you start worrying about the long-term effects of the rumored internet apocalypse (which is unlikely to happen), you need to know the things you need to do to prepare for massive solar flares.
Luckily, LifeHacker provided some tips that you and your family can follow:
- Protect your household's electrical system using whole-house and run-of-the-mill power-strip surge protectors.
- Of course, preparing basic disaster kits is also a must, which should include cash since ATMs and banks will not work if there's no electricity and internet.
- Make sure that you have enough water, food, and other necessities that you and your family can use for weeks or for a month.
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