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Solar Storm Causes Unprecedented GPS Disruptions South of Normal Range
Confirmed
In Short: A severe solar storm in November 2025 caused GPS navigation systems to lose accuracy by over 10 meters in regions typically unaffected, prompting calls for better preparedness.
Scientists have now found that the November 2025 solar storm induced turbulence in the Earth’s ionosphere layer farther south than normal, and temporarily reduced the accuracy of GPS navigation systems by over 10m (33ft).
The research, published in the Independent, highlights that high-energy electrons traveling down Earth's magnetic field lines and colliding with gases in the upper atmosphere over a wide range of longitudes were responsible for these disruptions.
The findings suggest that communities at all latitudes need to be more prepared for aurora-related GPS disruptions, as the storm-time high- and mid-latitude irregularities require a deeper understanding of the physical processes involved.
Hence, understanding the storm-time high- and mid-latitude irregularities requires knowledge of physical processes that control and describe the dynamics of auroral features, such as energy flux, expansion velocity, and precipitation scale sizes present in the auroral arc, all of which contribute to generating irregularities,' the study notes.
This storm showed that the same kind of disruption can spread across a much larger area, leading to significant GPS accuracy drops across regions usually considered relatively safe.
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- Solar storm led to temporary drop in accuracy of GPS systems by over 10 meters Solar storm led to temporary drop in accuracy of GPS systems by over 10 meters A severe solar storm that struck Earth in November last year caused never-before-seen GPS disruptions that may have led to “significant losses” had they occurred during the American farming season, a new study warns.
- Solar storms can bring dazzling auroras on Earth, which are mostly visible in the sky above the Earth’s North and South poles.
- But sometimes, strong solar storms can trigger dynamic auroras, visible farther across the lower latitudes of northern Europe and America.
- On 11 November, a massive solar flare ejected from an active sunspot region triggered such an aurora, seen as far south as central Florida in the US.
- They mapped electron density in the ionosphere, turbulence in this atmospheric layer, signal fluctuations, and GPS positioning errors during and after the solar storm.
- During a severe geomagnetic storm, GPS positions across parts of the continental United States drifted by more than 10 meters (33 feet).
- The next question is whether scientists can use that knowledge to predict where and when a solar storm will knock GPS accuracy off course.
- Commercial aviation is entering a more turbulent era as climate change reshapes the atmosphere, with scientists warning that stronger jet streams, hotter runways and more volatile storms are likely to translate into longer delays, bumpier rides and more frequent last-minute changes for passengers.