{"id":91988,"date":"2025-06-01T11:10:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T11:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/?p=91988"},"modified":"2025-06-01T11:10:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T11:10:44","slug":"if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f\/","title":{"rendered":"If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the f"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the following are the possible effects on the Earth?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> GPS and navigation systems could fail.<\/li>\n<li> Tsunamis could occur at equatorial regions.<\/li>\n<li> Power grids could be damaged.<\/li>\n<li> Intense auroras could occur over much of the Earth.<\/li>\n<li> Forest fires could take place over much of the planet.<\/li>\n<li> Orbits of the satellites could be disturbed.<\/li>\n<li> Shortwave radio communication of the aircraft flying over polar regions could be interrupted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Select the correct answer using the code given below :<\/p>\n<p>[amp_mcq option1=&#8221;1, 2, 4 and 5 only&#8221; option2=&#8221;2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 only&#8221; option3=&#8221;1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 only&#8221; option4=&#8221;1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7&#8243; correct=&#8221;option3&#8243;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"psc-box-pyq-exam-year-detail\">\n<div class=\"pyq-exam\">\n<div class=\"psc-heading\">This question was previously asked in<\/div>\n<div class=\"psc-title line-ellipsis\">UPSC IAS &#8211; 2022<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pyq-exam-psc-buttons\"><a href=\"\/pyq\/pyq-upsc-ias-2022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"psc-pdf-button\" rel=\"noopener\">Download PDF<\/a><a href=\"\/pyq-upsc-ias-2022\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"psc-attempt-button\" rel=\"noopener\">Attempt Online<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"pyq-correct-answer\">\nPossible effects of a major solar storm reaching the Earth include disruption of GPS, damage to power grids, intense auroras, disturbance of satellite orbits, and interruption of shortwave radio communication, particularly in polar regions. Tsunamis and widespread forest fires are not direct effects.<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"pyq-key-points\">\n&#8211; Statement 1 (GPS): Correct. Solar storms can disrupt the ionosphere, through which GPS signals pass, causing navigation errors or outages.<br \/>\n&#8211; Statement 2 (Tsunamis): Incorrect. Solar storms affect the space environment around Earth and the upper atmosphere, not geological processes that cause tsunamis.<br \/>\n&#8211; Statement 3 (Power grids): Correct. Geomagnetic storms can induce currents in long conductors like power lines, potentially damaging transformers and causing blackouts.<br \/>\n&#8211; Statement 4 (Auroras): Correct. Increased particle influx from solar storms enhances auroral displays, making them more intense and visible at lower latitudes than usual.<br \/>\n&#8211; Statement 5 (Forest fires): Incorrect. There is no direct link between solar storms and the ignition or spread of forest fires.<br \/>\n&#8211; Statement 6 (Satellite orbits): Correct. Increased heating of the upper atmosphere by particle influx causes it to expand, increasing drag on satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and affecting their trajectories.<br \/>\n&#8211; Statement 7 (Shortwave radio): Correct. Shortwave radio relies on reflection from the ionosphere. Solar storms can cause ionospheric disturbances (radio blackouts), especially affecting high-latitude regions where aircraft often use shortwave communication.<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"pyq-additional-information\">\nMajor solar storms, often associated with Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and solar flares, are powerful bursts of radiation and charged particles from the Sun. Their interaction with Earth&#8217;s magnetic field and atmosphere can have significant impacts on technology infrastructure, a field known as &#8216;space weather&#8217;.<br \/>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the following are the possible effects on the Earth? GPS and navigation systems could fail. Tsunamis could occur at equatorial regions. Power grids could be damaged. Intense auroras could occur over much of the Earth. Forest fires could take place over much of &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the f\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f\/#more-91988\">Detailed Solution<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the f<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1092],"tags":[1108,1198],"class_list":["post-91988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-upsc-ias","tag-1108","tag-space-technology","no-featured-image-padding"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.2 (Yoast SEO v23.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the f<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Possible effects of a major solar storm reaching the Earth include disruption of GPS, damage to power grids, intense auroras, disturbance of satellite orbits, and interruption of shortwave radio communication, particularly in polar regions. Tsunamis and widespread forest fires are not direct effects. - Statement 1 (GPS): Correct. Solar storms can disrupt the ionosphere, through which GPS signals pass, causing navigation errors or outages. - Statement 2 (Tsunamis): Incorrect. Solar storms affect the space environment around Earth and the upper atmosphere, not geological processes that cause tsunamis. - Statement 3 (Power grids): Correct. Geomagnetic storms can induce currents in long conductors like power lines, potentially damaging transformers and causing blackouts. - Statement 4 (Auroras): Correct. Increased particle influx from solar storms enhances auroral displays, making them more intense and visible at lower latitudes than usual. - Statement 5 (Forest fires): Incorrect. There is no direct link between solar storms and the ignition or spread of forest fires. - Statement 6 (Satellite orbits): Correct. Increased heating of the upper atmosphere by particle influx causes it to expand, increasing drag on satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and affecting their trajectories. - Statement 7 (Shortwave radio): Correct. Shortwave radio relies on reflection from the ionosphere. Solar storms can cause ionospheric disturbances (radio blackouts), especially affecting high-latitude regions where aircraft often use shortwave communication.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the f\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Possible effects of a major solar storm reaching the Earth include disruption of GPS, damage to power grids, intense auroras, disturbance of satellite orbits, and interruption of shortwave radio communication, particularly in polar regions. Tsunamis and widespread forest fires are not direct effects. - Statement 1 (GPS): Correct. Solar storms can disrupt the ionosphere, through which GPS signals pass, causing navigation errors or outages. - Statement 2 (Tsunamis): Incorrect. Solar storms affect the space environment around Earth and the upper atmosphere, not geological processes that cause tsunamis. - Statement 3 (Power grids): Correct. Geomagnetic storms can induce currents in long conductors like power lines, potentially damaging transformers and causing blackouts. - Statement 4 (Auroras): Correct. Increased particle influx from solar storms enhances auroral displays, making them more intense and visible at lower latitudes than usual. - Statement 5 (Forest fires): Incorrect. There is no direct link between solar storms and the ignition or spread of forest fires. - Statement 6 (Satellite orbits): Correct. Increased heating of the upper atmosphere by particle influx causes it to expand, increasing drag on satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and affecting their trajectories. - Statement 7 (Shortwave radio): Correct. Shortwave radio relies on reflection from the ionosphere. Solar storms can cause ionospheric disturbances (radio blackouts), especially affecting high-latitude regions where aircraft often use shortwave communication.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MCQ and Quiz for Exams\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-01T11:10:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the f","description":"Possible effects of a major solar storm reaching the Earth include disruption of GPS, damage to power grids, intense auroras, disturbance of satellite orbits, and interruption of shortwave radio communication, particularly in polar regions. Tsunamis and widespread forest fires are not direct effects. - Statement 1 (GPS): Correct. Solar storms can disrupt the ionosphere, through which GPS signals pass, causing navigation errors or outages. - Statement 2 (Tsunamis): Incorrect. Solar storms affect the space environment around Earth and the upper atmosphere, not geological processes that cause tsunamis. - Statement 3 (Power grids): Correct. Geomagnetic storms can induce currents in long conductors like power lines, potentially damaging transformers and causing blackouts. - Statement 4 (Auroras): Correct. Increased particle influx from solar storms enhances auroral displays, making them more intense and visible at lower latitudes than usual. - Statement 5 (Forest fires): Incorrect. There is no direct link between solar storms and the ignition or spread of forest fires. - Statement 6 (Satellite orbits): Correct. Increased heating of the upper atmosphere by particle influx causes it to expand, increasing drag on satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and affecting their trajectories. - Statement 7 (Shortwave radio): Correct. Shortwave radio relies on reflection from the ionosphere. Solar storms can cause ionospheric disturbances (radio blackouts), especially affecting high-latitude regions where aircraft often use shortwave communication.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the f","og_description":"Possible effects of a major solar storm reaching the Earth include disruption of GPS, damage to power grids, intense auroras, disturbance of satellite orbits, and interruption of shortwave radio communication, particularly in polar regions. Tsunamis and widespread forest fires are not direct effects. - Statement 1 (GPS): Correct. Solar storms can disrupt the ionosphere, through which GPS signals pass, causing navigation errors or outages. - Statement 2 (Tsunamis): Incorrect. Solar storms affect the space environment around Earth and the upper atmosphere, not geological processes that cause tsunamis. - Statement 3 (Power grids): Correct. Geomagnetic storms can induce currents in long conductors like power lines, potentially damaging transformers and causing blackouts. - Statement 4 (Auroras): Correct. Increased particle influx from solar storms enhances auroral displays, making them more intense and visible at lower latitudes than usual. - Statement 5 (Forest fires): Incorrect. There is no direct link between solar storms and the ignition or spread of forest fires. - Statement 6 (Satellite orbits): Correct. Increased heating of the upper atmosphere by particle influx causes it to expand, increasing drag on satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and affecting their trajectories. - Statement 7 (Shortwave radio): Correct. Shortwave radio relies on reflection from the ionosphere. Solar storms can cause ionospheric disturbances (radio blackouts), especially affecting high-latitude regions where aircraft often use shortwave communication.","og_url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f\/","og_site_name":"MCQ and Quiz for Exams","article_published_time":"2025-06-01T11:10:44+00:00","author":"rawan239","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"rawan239","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f\/","url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f\/","name":"If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the f","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-06-01T11:10:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-01T11:10:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#\/schema\/person\/5807dafeb27d2ec82344d6cbd6c3d209"},"description":"Possible effects of a major solar storm reaching the Earth include disruption of GPS, damage to power grids, intense auroras, disturbance of satellite orbits, and interruption of shortwave radio communication, particularly in polar regions. Tsunamis and widespread forest fires are not direct effects. - Statement 1 (GPS): Correct. Solar storms can disrupt the ionosphere, through which GPS signals pass, causing navigation errors or outages. - Statement 2 (Tsunamis): Incorrect. Solar storms affect the space environment around Earth and the upper atmosphere, not geological processes that cause tsunamis. - Statement 3 (Power grids): Correct. Geomagnetic storms can induce currents in long conductors like power lines, potentially damaging transformers and causing blackouts. - Statement 4 (Auroras): Correct. Increased particle influx from solar storms enhances auroral displays, making them more intense and visible at lower latitudes than usual. - Statement 5 (Forest fires): Incorrect. There is no direct link between solar storms and the ignition or spread of forest fires. - Statement 6 (Satellite orbits): Correct. Increased heating of the upper atmosphere by particle influx causes it to expand, increasing drag on satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and affecting their trajectories. - Statement 7 (Shortwave radio): Correct. Shortwave radio relies on reflection from the ionosphere. Solar storms can cause ionospheric disturbances (radio blackouts), especially affecting high-latitude regions where aircraft often use shortwave communication.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/if-a-major-solar-storm-solar-flare-reaches-the-earth-which-of-the-f\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UPSC IAS","item":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/category\/upsc-ias\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the f"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#website","url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/","name":"MCQ and Quiz for Exams","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#\/schema\/person\/5807dafeb27d2ec82344d6cbd6c3d209","name":"rawan239","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/761a7274f9cce048fa5b921221e7934820d74514df93ef195a9d22af0c1c9001?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/761a7274f9cce048fa5b921221e7934820d74514df93ef195a9d22af0c1c9001?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"rawan239"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com"],"url":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/author\/rawan239\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}