Why Southeast Asia, Europe, Middle East might have experienced radio blackouts this week, what are solar flares

The disruptions were triggered by X-class solar flares, the most intense category, erupting from the Sun on Tuesday (May 13) and Wednesday (May 14). The second event was classified as an X2.7, making it the strongest solar flare recorded so far this year.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which continuously monitors the Sun, captured images of both eruptions. While the flares were not directly aimed at Earth, the radiation they emitted was powerful enough to temporarily disturb radio signals in parts of the globe.

The UK Met Office’s Space Weather forecast, issued Thursday (15 May), warned of “moderate radio blackouts likely” and noted a “chance of isolated R3/Strong radio blackouts.”

Although these events sound dramatic, they pose no physical danger to people on the ground. As NASA explains: "Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground. However, when intense enough, they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS & communications signals travel."

Solar flares can also lead to coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are massive eruptions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun. These CMEs can trigger geomagnetic storms if they are Earth-directed, though current assessments suggest the recent flares were not.