Impact of the Active Solar Cycle and Solar Flares on Japan - Emphasizing the Need for Caution Regarding Major Communication Disruptions

Since the beginning of May, solar flares, which are explosions occurring on the surface of the sun, have been observed frequently due to the active cycle of solar activity. As a result, charged gas released from the sun is reaching Earth, causing some repercussions in certain areas.

Solar flares refer to explosive phenomena on the sun's surface, primarily occurring near sunspots. This May has seen a high intensity of solar flares, including five X-class flares, the largest category, within just two days.

These charged particles generated by solar flares can affect communications for several days upon reaching Earth. Experts warn that this could lead to a positional error of up to 10 meters in location-based services using GPS.

Fumiaki Toya, a professor at Tohoku University's Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, explained, "There could be a positional error of several meters, up to 10 meters, in car navigation systems using GPS. While the impact is not extreme at present, the solar activity cycle is expected to peak around 2024, so we need to keep an eye on it."

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, if an extremely large solar flare, which occurs once every 100 years, were to occur, severe communication disruptions are anticipated, including intermittent disruptions to smartphone communications and calls for about two weeks.

The sun exhibits a cycle of approximately 11 years, with its activity increasing and decreasing. Currently, we are in Solar Cycle 25, which began in December 2020. While experts predict that this cycle will be less active than the previous one, preparations for solar activity are still necessary.