About 20 solar flares have been recorded on the Sun over the past 24 hours, with one being the largest in two weeks. Just three days ago, the average rate was 1–2 flares per day, reports infohub.kz.
According to the Solar Astronomy Laboratory, the flares are occurring in so-called geo-effective solar regions, which could potentially impact Earth, but they have not posed a direct threat so far.
“The main factor in space weather remains a large coronal hole currently observed on the star. Therefore, there remains a high probability of weak to moderate geomagnetic storms today. Geomagnetic indices are already elevated but remain below the storm threshold. The number of flares is expected to continue increasing. Within a day or two, X-class events are possible,” astronomers noted.
The surge in activity is currently considered local, linked to the random emergence of an isolated large sunspot group (catalog number 4493). The global level of solar activity is currently assessed as low.
According to astrophysicists, early on the morning of July 23, geomagnetic activity will reach G1 level. This is the lowest level on a five-point scale, indicating weak magnetospheric fluctuations.
Earlier, a strong geomagnetic storm was reported on July 3 and 4.