- Title: EXPLAINER - What are the geomagnetic storms and how they impact our daily life?
- Date: 14th November 2025
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (NOVEMBER 14, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOLAR PHYSICIST AND ASTRONOMER PROFESSOR, LUCIE GREEN, SAYING: "Solar storms do have an impact on our lives. We may not necessarily feel it directly, but it comes through the technologies that we use as societies. The solar storms, when they arrive at the Earth, trigger this series of event
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- Keywords: AURORA BOREALIS CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS (CME) GEOMAGNETIC STORM SATELLITE LAUNCH SOLAR STORM SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: Various
- Topics: Science,Space Exploration
- Reuters ID: LVA001170913112025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: WHAT ARE SOLAR STORMS?
Most stars have magnetic fields, apparently generated by the motion of super-hot gases inside them. The sun's ever-changing magnetic field drives the formation of sunspots - shifting dark patches - on its surface and triggers solar flares that blast hot charged particles into space
The storm was unleashed by a surge in high-energy charged particles spewed into space earlier this week from large eruptions on the sun's surface called "coronal mass ejections."
The resulting stream of charged-particle radiation, or plasma, was measured on Earth on Wednesday at G-4, or "severe" levels, one step down from the highest stage of G-5 or "extreme," but it was expected to fade on Thursday (November 13)
TYPES OF SOLAR STORMS?
Solar flares: Sudden flashes of energy that emit X-rays and ultraviolet radiation. These can disrupt radio signals and navigation systems.
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs): Huge bubbles of plasma and magnetic fields hurled into space. If directed at Earth, they can cause geomagnetic storms.
Solar energetic particles (SEPs): High-speed particles that can damage satellites and pose risks to astronauts.
WHY IT MATTERS?
Scientists monitor solar activity because strong storms can cause widespread technological disruptions. The Sun follows an 11-year cycle of activity, and it is currently approaching a peak, increasing the likelihood of powerful storms.
Geomagnetic storms are known to disrupt radio and satellite communications. They also can increase atmospheric density, creating intense friction or drag on satellites and other spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, as occurred in February 2022 when 40 Starlink satellites newly launched by SpaceX were disabled.
Elevated levels of charged particles from the sun can also more easily escape Earth's protective magnetic field and collide more vigorously with molecules in the atmosphere, heightening the extent of colorful aurora displays visible in the night skies, mostly in polar regions.
These light shows are called aurora borealis, or northern lights, in the Northern Hemisphere, and aurora australis, or southern lights, in the Southern Hemisphere. They occur near the poles because Earth's magnetic field guides the Sun's particles there.
Auroras have been more frequent recently because the Sun is at the peak of its 11‑year activity cycle, known as solar maximum, when its magnetic poles flip and activity intensifies. The current cycle's peak began around last year and is expected to last at least through the end of this year.
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