NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has revised its forecast for Solar Cycle 25, predicting a quicker and more intense peak in solar activity between January and October 2024. The updated prediction challenges the previous expert panel’s forecast from 2019.
On January 15, 2022, the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcanic eruption led to a sudden and significant loss of stratospheric ozone. This event occurred over the tropical southwestern Pacific and Indian Ocean region. Researchers found that the eruption injected an unprecedented amount of water vapor into the stratosphere, causing chemical reactions that resulted in rapid ozone depletion.
Corrosive ash fallout from the massive eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano last year has triggered a series of power outages on Tonga’s main island, Tongatapu, beginning September 2022. Tonga Power, the island’s electricity provider, has termed the situation a “crisis” due to the unprecedented damage to the High Voltage Aerial Bundled Cabling across the island.
On September 16, 2023, a significantly large ozone hole stretched over Antarctica, covering an area of 26 million km3 (10.04 million mi3), prompting a deeper look into the possible causes. The fluctuating size of the ozone hole is a yearly phenomenon, with a notable increase from August to October, and a decrease as temperatures in the southern hemisphere’s stratosphere rise towards the year’s end.
The Italian government is exploring the potential evacuation of tens of thousands of residents living near the Campi Flegrei supervolcano, 20 km (12.5 miles) from Naples, following over 1 100 earthquakes in the area within a month. The announcement was made on Thursday, October 5, 2023, and further measures are set to be discussed in a cabinet meeting.
A recently published study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters has revealed that the Gulf Stream transport of water through the Florida Straits has weakened by approximately 4% over the past 40 years. Researchers state with 99% certainty that this is more than what would be expected from random variations, marking the first definitive evidence of significant change in the current.
Record-breaking rainfall submerged streets and disrupted travel across the New York City metropolitan area on September 29, 2023. The deluge set new daily records and made this month the wettest September in New York City’s recorded history.
A seismic swarm consisting of approximately 64 events, with magnitudes ranging up to 4.2, has been observed since 05:06 LT on September 26, 2023, in the Campi Flegrei region, Italy.
The Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) that was launched on September 22, 2023, hit Earth’s magnetic field on September 24 at 20:43 UTC, sparking a moderate G2 – Moderate geomagnetic storm and rare red auroras. Initially detected in Canada where magnetometer readings spiked by 129 nT, the event later became visible across Europe, reaching as far south as France.
A massive wave crashed into a beach restaurant in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on September 17, 2023, leaving 12 people injured. Five of them were transported to a hospital in a serious condition.
