Letters | Why Hong Kong should not take its eyes off the sun
- Power and communications networks could be wiped out in an extreme event, unless we start paying attention to changes in solar and space weather
In the Chinese sci-fi blockbuster Wandering Earth, mankind has to escape as the dying sun prepares to engulf the Earth. While the sun is unlikely to die any time soon, it is essential for the global community to pay more attention to solar weather and be prepared for the disastrous effects of extreme space weather events.
Space scientists have for years studied and monitored solar activities such as solar flares, coronal mass ejections and solar wind. During coronal mass ejections, the sun ejects enormous amounts of magnetised plasma, which is often associated with solar flares – sudden bursts of electromagnetic radiation and high-energy particles. Such solar events could significantly disturb the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere, jamming the signals of communication and navigation systems, disrupting the operations of electricity transmission networks and causing widespread blackouts.
Nevertheless, there is no protocol in place for the Observatory to alert the Hong Kong government in case of extreme space weather events that might threaten the city’s power and communications infrastructure.