An X-class flare that split into two simultaneous explosions - known as a sympathetic solar flare, triggered a coronal mass ejection that slammed into Earth, causing the biggest disruption to our planet's magnetic field in more than six years. The last time the Earth experienced such a strong geomagnetic disturbance was in September 2017.
The resulting geomagnetic storm reached severe (G4) status, causing communications disruptions around the world and increasing the potential for major earthquakes.
It's worth noting that this peak in the solar cycle has come earlier than originally predicted, and as solar activity decreases, so do temperatures on Earth.
As we have mentioned many times before, the climate and Earth changes are strongly influenced by solar activity and the electrical interaction between our star and the Earth. And it's interesting to observe that even when the sun is at its peak, we see record snow and low temperatures around the world:
California: 10.5 feet of snow after massive blizzard.
Colorado: Mid-March storm dumps up to 5 feet of snow.
North Platte, Nebraska: Record snowfall with 17.4 inches in one day.
Newfoundland, Canada: Storm dumps up to 2 feet of snow.
Afif, Saudi Arabia: Desert covered in hail or snow in rare event.
There are also reports of fast temperature swings in some countries in the Northern Hemisphere:
Southern Spain: Snow falls on Malaga following a dramatic drop in temperatures overnight
Portugal: 86°F (30°C) to snowfall in a matter of hours.
Unusually strong storms and floods also left a mark around the world this month:
Indonesia: Flash floods, landslides wreak havoc - 26 dead, 11 missing, over 80,000 evacuated.
Madagascar: At least 18 dead as Cyclone Gamane strikes - more than 20,000 displaced.
Kazakhstan: Spring floods trigger evacuation of 10,000 people.
Fiji: 16 inches of rain in 24 hours
Southern France: A foot of rain in 48 hours.
It's also worth highlighting that thousands of solar panels were completely destroyed by hail in Texas at the end of the month, demonstrating, once again, the fragility and inefficiency of the much-hyped green technology.
