Solar Flares Are Predicted for the Next Few Days—Can They Affect Your Health?

The sun is a massive magnetic star that gives us light and warmth, helps us grow crops, and gives us a chance to catch some much-needed rays in the summer. Sometimes, the sun can produce solar flares that can damage machinery and technology—but there's little evidence to suggest harmful solar flare effects on humans. Read on to learn more. When the energy stored in the sun's magnetic fields is suddenly released, huge explosions can happen. These explosions are called solar flares. The flares produce sudden and intense light flashes, sending high-energy particles and a burst of ultraviolet rays into space. Particles can reach the Earth in a few hours or days, creating a magnetic storm in the Earth's atmosphere that can last for days. Flares have been known to cause: Radiation storms in the upper atmosphereRadio blackouts around the worldTransformer explosionsWidespread mobile-phone outages They can also cause fluctuations in magnetic fields, reaching the Earth's surface. "These take a c...