Earth hit by strongest solar flare of 2025, blackout warnings issued

The sun unleashed the strongest X5.1 class solar flare, blasting the Earth with 2025 year’s strongest solar activity so far and causing warnings of potential disruptions and blackouts.

The unprecedented solar eruption took place at 5 a.m. EST (1000 GMT) from sunspot AR4274, possessing the massive ability to disrupt satellites, high-altitude flights, and high-frequency radio blackouts across Europe and Africa.

Moreover, satellites, maritime, internet, and GPS systems are likely to be disrupted due to the G4 geomagnetic storm.

According to Steph Yardley, the space scientist, such kind of solar activity is “not very common” as these particles emitted from the sun are so intense that even ground-based detectors can catch them up.

As per NOAA scientists, these flares would be accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). If Earth is slammed by these ejections, massive clouds of magnetic fields and solar material moving towards Earth at 4.4 million mph speed, the planet will experience strong geomagnetic storm conditions and distortion of Earth’s magnetic field.

The G4 geomagnetic storm triggered by CMEs has extended the aurora borealis visibility across the United States, reaching as far south as Texas, Oregon, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Iowa on November, 12.

Solar flares are categorized in five different classes, A, B, C, M, and X based on energy output. Among all these classes, X-class solar flares are the most powerful and intense, capable of disrupting various activities on Earth.