Pediatrician Ulyana Markova has stated that magnetic storms have no impact on the health or well-being of children, speaking in an interview with news network RT.
Markova said parents frequently observe mood changes in their children on specific days, including complaints of headaches, increased irritability and difficulty falling asleep. However, she explained that parents cannot determine from these symptoms that geomagnetic activity has affected a child's health.
According to Markova, everyday lifestyle factors and common health conditions are far more likely to be responsible for a child feeling unwell. She identified a lack of sleep, heavy academic workloads at school, emotional stress, prolonged use of gadgets and electronic devices, or an oncoming illness as the main causes.
Daily routine and academic performance
Markova noted that when a child suffers from insufficient sleep, exhaustion or headaches, focusing on their schoolwork becomes noticeably more difficult. However, she emphasized that parents have no grounds to connect a drop in school grades directly with solar flares or geomagnetic disturbances.
Instead of attributing a child's headache or poor focus to solar events, Markova advised parents to look for the cause within the child's daily schedule and routine. Adjusting sleep hygiene, screen time limits and study habits provides a clearer path to resolving routine symptoms.
Geomagnetic storms are temporary disturbances of Earth's magnetosphere caused by streams of charged solar particles emitted during solar activity. Although intense solar storms can affect satellite communications and power grids on Earth, health experts stress that routine pediatric health complaints rarely share any proven link with solar phenomena.
Cardiovascular vulnerability to solar storms
Markova's assessment follows comments from Marina Berezhnaya, the head of the emergency and urgent care department at the European Medical Center. Berezhnaya previously explained that individuals living with cardiovascular diseases represent the population group most vulnerable to the effects of magnetic storms.
The European Medical Center is a major private healthcare provider operating specialized medical facilities. Cardiovascular diseases encompass a range of heart and blood vessel disorders, which emergency physicians monitor closely during periods of heightened environmental or atmospheric stress.
Pediatric medicine focuses on the physical, behavioral and mental health of children from birth through adolescence. Specialists in the field consistently recommend that parents address tangible factors such as sleep deprivation, digital device usage and school stress before assuming environmental phenomena are affecting their child's health.
