New Zealand takes urgent action to confront major geomagnetic solar storm

New Zealand electricity company Transpower New Zealand Limited reported that a number of power lines were shut down across the country to prevent damage to the company's equipment due to the powerful solar storm.

A statement issued by the company said: “Transpower closed a number of power lines on the North and South Islands due to raising the warning level for the G4 geomagnetic storm that struck the Earth as a result of solar activity to the highest G5 category.”

Plasma explosions on the surface of the Sun trigger magnetic storms on Earth.

The storm is supposed to interact with the Earth's magnetic field, which could send pulses of electrical current down power lines and damage substations.