The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) has issued a severe space weather alert, cautioning of potential disruptions to key grid assets and widespread voltage control problems as a powerful solar storm is poised to impact Earth.
The alert follows the detection of three coronal mass ejections and strong solar flares earlier this week, prompting Sansa to forecast a severe G4 geomagnetic storm.
While there’s a slight chance the storm may reach G4 levels, the main impact is anticipated to be between G1 to G3 levels.
Geomagnetic storm conditions previously expected to reach G2/Moderate storm levels are now forecasted to reach up to G4/Severe storm levels! The impact is expected later today into tomorrow 10-11 May. This may impact the performance of navigation and communications applications. pic.twitter.com/aPSOsPDzTD
— SANSA Space Weather (@SpaceweatherSA) May 10, 2024
SANSA Update: an X2.3 solar flare is observed from active region 3664 (AR3664). Frequencies of up to 30 MHz in the HF band were affected over the African region. The radio wave absorption was evident on the Hermanus ionogram with no received echoes. Follow us on @SpaceweatherSA pic.twitter.com/Sowwf8ntZ5
— SANSA Space Weather (@SpaceweatherSA) May 9, 2024
The US Space Weather Prediction Center has also issued a warning, marking the first G4 storm watch since January 2005.
As Earth braces for potential disruptions to communications, power grids, and navigation systems, Sansa’s world-class forecasting station in Hermanus continues to provide updates on solar activity, reinforcing the agency’s commitment to monitoring and safeguarding critical infrastructure during solar events.
