A magnetic storm of level G4.33 has begun on Earth against the backdrop of a record radiation storm in the 21st century, reports the press service of the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences on their Telegram channel.
“The question remains open as to whether level G5 will be reached in the coming hours, which has only been observed once in the last 20 years — in May 2024,” experts noted.
Scientists report that solar wind readings are on the verge of breaking records.
According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the USA, January 20 will be a critical day due to the combination of powerful solar radiation and the magnetic storm, which will create unfavorable weather conditions.
Experts from the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences warned that after a powerful solar flare of class X19.5 that occurred on January 18, a plasma cloud would reach Earth on the night of Tuesday, leading to magnetic storms and auroras. The scientific team noted that such events are extremely rare, and the strongest magnetic disturbances of level G4 were expected on Tuesday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Moscow time. The probability of G5 level magnetic storms was estimated at 10%.
On the evening of January 19, the laboratory reported the onset of a radiation storm of level S4, marking the first such event in two solar cycles (about 22 years). The flow of solar protons reached a record value of 37,000, exceeding the figures from the powerful flare of 2003. Level S4 is considered very strong, and a higher class S5 has never been recorded in the entire history of observations. That same evening, the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences also reported the impact of a plasma cloud caused by an X-class flare on the Sun.
