Solar flareSolar flares and other phenomena can have a surprising effect on our Earthly activities.

Economist finds geomagnetic storms have negative effect on human productivity

Our dependence on technical systems that can be affected by electric currents and energy particles high in the atmosphere puts us at risk from geomagnetic storms, says economics professor Michael Batu.

“We might think of space as a silent, empty void and the sun as only a distant source of light and heat. This is not necessarily true,” he wrote in an article published Thursday in the Conversation. The Conversation is an independent source of news and views from the academic and research community, delivered direct to the public. “The sun and the Earth are connected in more complex, intimate and sometimes dangerous ways.”

In analyzing the economic impacts of space weather, Dr. Batu and his former graduate student Zichun Zhao found that the gross domestic products of member countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development decreased as solar activity increased.

Read the entire piece, “Solar weather has real, material effects on Earth,” in the Conversation.

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