Dangerous solar storm strikes Earth on Winter Solstice day! More set to hit today

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Just a couple of days ago, a shockwave caused by fast-moving solar winds caused a crack in the magnetosphere of the Earth, which resulted in unexpected solar storm activity. Now, there is a relentless attack, as another solar storm has struck our planet in the early hours today, December 22. A flurry of auroras could be seen in the arctic region. But these solar storms are much more dangerous than some light show in the sky. They cause GPS disruptions and shortwave radio blackouts. And now, forecasters have revealed that more solar storm activity can be seen later today. Incidentally, the solar storms have struck the Earth on winter solstice, the longest night of the year. Read on to know the consequences of these solar disturbances.

The incident was reported by SpaceWeather.com which stated on its website, “A series of cracks opened in Earth's magnetic field during the early hours, sparking a display of solstice auroras around the Arctic Circle. The light show could continue tonight if, as forecasters suspect, a pair of solar wind streams are about to arrive”. These solar winds are emerging from a double hole in the Earth-facing disk of the Sun which developed on December 20.

These double holes in the Sun's atmosphere are not sunspots. They are merely a region where low magnetic fields have appeared and as a result, solar winds are escaping from it. For the unaware, solar winds are a mix of plasma and coronal mass ejections (CME) which move at a high speed, giving the impression of wind. These escaping solar winds were directed towards the Earth and it struck the magnetosphere of our planet and weakened it, opening a crack to let in the solar particles and cause a solar storm.

While the solar storm that has already struck