On the weekend – the strongest geomagnetic storm in 20 years: some people’s health may go on strike

The Facebook page “Weather and climate in Lithuania” indicates that the strongest geomagnetic storm in two decades will hit the Earth on Saturday and Sunday, which in turn may give us images of the northern lights. True, this will require both luck and the failure of the forecast – according to current forecasts, the peak of the flow of electrified particles will reach the Earth in Lithuania at dawn or at dusk.

According to the Facebook page “Weather and climate in Lithuania”, a very large region of sunspots with the numerical name 3664 remains very active and spews charged particles. Coronal mass ejections directed towards the Earth took place on Thursday. One of them is an X1.0 flash, another is an X2.2 flash, and on Friday morning, another stronger one, even an X3.8 flash.

“This means that on May 11-12 Coronal mass ejections (or CMEs) will reach Earth. A very strong geomagnetic storm (G4) that has not been seen in almost 20 years is predicted. Even the Kp8 index is predicted in the forecasts.

The health effects are different

It is noticed that different people react very differently to magnetic storms – some become sluggish, sleepy, while others do not feel anything at all.

According to doctors, the greatest impact of such phenomena is usually on the nervous, cardiovascular and neuroenocrine regulation. Some people, especially the elderly, those with chronic diseases, pregnant women, feel the effects of geomagnetic storms more often and more strongly.

Research by scientists has been conducted in various countries and shows that when there are strong geomagnetic storms, the risk of stroke and heart attack increases by up to 20%. Therefore, people with a higher risk of these diseases should be more vigilant and monitor their health status more carefully. If necessary, seek help from medical facilities providing emergency medical services.

The most patient will be able to admire it

The sight can be extraordinary, because even in Lithuania one would expect to see the northern lights overhead. There is only one but… The peak of the flux of charged particles will reach the Earth when we have Saturday morning/day. It will be light here, so we probably won’t see the most interesting spectacle. Quite simply, the time of year is very thankless. The days are already long, and the astronomical nights are almost gone. It’s a bit of a pity, because either the zeppelins or the daylight prevent us from seeing a good spectacle,” the page reads.

Nevertheless, “Weather and climate in Lithuania” urges not to lose hope and to be prepared.

“Friday to Saturday night (especially Saturday 1:00-3:30) and Saturday to Sunday night should be further outside the city and watch the northern side of the night sky. Forecasts, like everywhere, are not perfectly accurate, so let’s have hope. The flow of charged particles sometimes reaches the Earth earlier, sometimes later than predicted,” the page states.

In recent years, the northern lights have been recorded in Lithuania more than once.

If you also managed to capture the spectacular dance of the northern lights over the weekend and would like to share it with 15min readers, you can send the photos to [email protected] or use the “15min Report” tool.