Scientists Puzzled by Unprecedented 2026 Magnetic Storm

The magnetosphere of our planet has stabilized after the first large-scale magnetic storm of 2026, which is among the most significant events of the 21st century. This was reported on January 22 by the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAS).

«The geomagnetic indices left the red zone yesterday, around 16:00 Moscow Time, and have now stabilized at the level of Kp=3-4, which separates Earth»s calm magnetosphere from the weakly disturbed level,« the specialists noted.

Solar wind parameters have also returned to normal values. The plasma cloud that caused the disturbance has already passed Earth and is moving towards Jupiter, affecting comet 3I/ATLAS along the way. Solar activity is currently in a moderate, background mode.

The storm was triggered by an X1.9-class flare, the highest class, which occurred on the evening of January 18 in active region 4341. This same region, while still on the far side of the Sun, had previously generated two major explosions in the first half of the month.

However, the impact force on Earth was exceptional and only partially explained by the region«s position on the Sun–Earth line. As astronomers admit, a number of facts are »extremely difficult to fit into the basic understanding of solar activity.«

The main anomaly was an extremely powerful radiation storm, accompanied by a record increase for the 21st century in the number of energetic protons with energies over 10 MeV in near-Earth space. The density of solar protons over a day reached 37,000 units, which:

• is 20 times higher than the indicators of the strongest flares of the current cycle;
• is thousands of times higher than the established «red level» of danger.

«Seemingly unbreakable records from the beginning of the century, registered then after the largest flares of the current century (about 30,000 units), were surpassed, and it only fell slightly short of beating the absolute record of 43,000 units, registered back in the 20th century,» stated the laboratory.

The causes and consequences of this phenomenon are not fully clear. In particular, the radiation dose received by spacecraft over these 24 hours is unknown. The powerful proton flux disabled the sensors of the ACE spacecraft, due to which there are still no precise data on the speed of the plasma ejection that reached our planet.

At the same time, the magnetic storm itself did not reach the maximum level of G5, stopping at G4.7. Thus, the most powerful event in the last 20 years remains the storm of May 10–11, 2024. Disturbances of similar intensity were recorded on October 11, 2024, and November 12, 2025.

The disturbance lasted about 42 hours and was accompanied by exceptionally bright auroras. The aurora was observed even in southern Russia — in Krasnodar Krai and Crimea, where it had a red hue. Numerous photographs of this phenomenon have been widely circulated.

«With high probability, the sky was colored for two days over Moscow as well, which could have been observed even despite the light pollution of the large city, but both days over the city, as well as over St. Petersburg where the auroras were even brighter, there were continuous clouds,» added the researchers.

New flares and moderate magnetic storms are possible in the coming days, but such a powerful event, according to scientists, is unlikely to repeat in the foreseeable future.