Many Taiwanese news media have recently reported that geomagnetic storms might be harmful to humans, saying they could affect the nervous, cardiovascular, immune and endocrine systems, as well as quality of sleep. Those who do not understand the health effects of magnetic fields often use the word “might” to mitigate what are otherwise quite extreme claims.
Taipei Veterans General Hospital’s Division of Genetics and Prenatal Diagnosis head Chang Chia-ming (張家銘) on Monday wrote on Facebook that some people are more susceptible to fluctuations in electromagnetic fields, referring to a condition called “electromagnetic hypersensitivity.”
The US Geological Survey defines a magnetic storm as “a period of rapid magnetic field variation.” It is mainly caused by the occasional emission of a strong surge of solar wind from the sun that disturbs the outer part of the Earth’s magnetic field, generates electric currents in the near-Earth space environment and creates magnetic field variations.
However, the Earth’s magnetic field has no direct influence on human health, as humans have already evolved to survive on Earth. While electromagnetic activity could impact electric technology, it does not affect human beings.
AFP Fact Check quoted University College London space and climate physics associate professor Daniel Verscharen as saying that there was no proof that geomagnetic storms directly affect human health.
University of Michigan Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering assistant professor Dan Welling said he and his students found that studies linking space weather with human health to be “of poor quality, with unsupported conclusions.”
The Earth’s magnetic field strength at its surface measures about 500 milligauss (mG), while geomagnetic fluctuations caused by solar wind average at about 140mG.
The US National Academy of Sciences said that nerve and muscle activity in the human body induces electric currents of about 1 milliampere per square meter (mA/m2). If a person were exposed to an electromagnetic field of 1mG, it would induce a current measuring only 0.001mA/m2, so its effect is about 1,000 times smaller than the currents naturally generated within the human body.
The report titled Health Effects of Low Frequency Electric and Magnetic Fields by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities Panel concluded that there was no need to expand the national research effort to investigate the health effects of low-frequency electromagnetic fields, given a lack of evidence that they are harmful to human health.
A US National Academy of Sciences report titled Possible Health Effects of Exposure to Residential Electric and Magnetic Fields said that there is no evidence of adverse impacts on human health from exposure to power-frequency electric and magnetic fields.
Given that, countries such as the US and Canada do not regulate low-frequency electromagnetic fields.
A WHO publication titled Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity said: “Electromagnetic hypersensitivity has no clear diagnostic criteria and there is no scientific basis to link its symptoms to electromagnetic field exposure.”
Electromagnetic hypersensitivity manifests as a variety of symptoms, from heart palpitations to digestive issues, and is considered a nocebo effect, or negative symptoms that occur due to a belief that something would cause harm.
Decades of research has proven that geomagnetic storms pose no major health risks to humans, so the public need not worry.
Lin Ji-shing is a university professor.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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