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Date Published: 02/06/2025

Solar flare hits Spain, potentially disrupting GPS and power

The Spanish Space Agency issued a warning at the weekend after a powerful solar storm hit Earth’s magnetic field

Just as Spain was finally starting to enjoy a bit of proper sunshine after months of gloom, there’s been a slightly more cosmic twist to the forecast. While most people were out enjoying the warm weather over the weekend, the Spanish Space Agency issued a warning on Sunday June 1 about some unexpected space activity that could mess with power grids, GPS systems and even satellite communications.

With the nationwide blackout from the end of April still fresh in our minds, this is far from welcome news.

The warning came after a burst of intense solar activity was recorded in just a few hours. According to the agency’s website, this was triggered “by a high-speed coronal mass ejection (CME) associated with an M8.2 solar flare,” which hit the Earth’s magnetosphere on the morning of June 1, sometime between 8 and 11 in the morning, Spanish peninsular time.

This solar storm packed quite a punch, pushing the geomagnetic index all the way up to Kp 8. That’s classified as a “severe storm” on the scale that measures geomagnetic activity, which runs from zero to nine.

“Currently, conditions have moderated slightly, with the Kp hovering around 7.3,” the statement said, “although forecast models indicate a high probability of renewed activity intensifying over the next 24 hours.”

So, while things have calmed down a little, the experts say this solar show isn’t quite over yet. The European Space Agency, which Spain is part of, is keeping a close eye on things through its space weather monitoring network. The good news is that “a dangerous situation” isn’t expected just yet, as that only becomes a real worry if the Kp index hits a 9.

🪐 En las últimas horas, se ha registrado una intensa actividad solar por una eyección de masa coronal de alta velocidad que ha impactado la magnetosfera terrestre durante esta madrugada.☀️🌍
👉Ante esta situación, la Agencia Espacial @aee_gob informa👇https://t.co/3QtwIBV14t pic.twitter.com/vBeVLzu1uT
— Agencia Espacial Española (AEE) (@aee_gob) June 1, 2025

As of late Sunday, no major issues had been reported. But solar storms like this one can still cause a bit of chaos, including power grid problems in high-latitude areas, patchy high-frequency radio signals, GPS glitches and temporary satellite hiccups. There’s even the possibility of satellites in low orbits being affected by the Earth’s upper atmosphere getting a bit puffier thanks to the storm.

According to the Space Weather Prediction Centre at NOAA and the ESA, this particular event has been tagged as a G4 geomagnetic storm. That’s the second-highest category, just one step below “extreme.”

Because of that, the Spanish Space Agency is encouraging space and ground infrastructure operators to “maintain vigilance and update forecasts with the most recent data from international agencies.”

For the mere mortals among us, the impact of this solar storm is probably very minimal, but if the situation continues we could experience some strange, if minor, side-effects. Your GPS might briefly lose its bearings, your mobile signal could dip in and out, and radio stations might sound a little fuzzier than usual.

However, this is absolutely nothing to panic about and, for the time being at least, there’s no indication that Spain could be heading for another major blackout.

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Image: Spanish Space Agency

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