The Sun erupted with a massive X4-class solar flare on November 14, marking the second most powerful flare of 2025 and adding to a growing wave of heightened solar activity this year. The flare was an outburst of a hyperactive sunspot, AR4274, on which a recent record-breaking X5-class event was spotted. The latest flare, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), reached its peak at around 2 pm IST, and this burst of immense radiation was hurled towards the Earth.
Solar outbursts can be categorized in terms of strength, whereby the “X” is the strongest eruption. The X4-class flare is said to be very energetic and can produce severe interference with communication and navigation systems. Predictably, the November 14 flare caused radio blackouts throughout the sunlit side of the planet. The impact was mostly concentrated in central and eastern Africa, where high-frequency radio communication was at one time impaired or totally disrupted.
According to scientists, sunspot AR4274 has been extremely volatile as it has been generating numerous strong flares in recent weeks. Its operation is consistent with the ongoing Solar Cycle 25, which is at its peak. It is a time in which the magnetic field of the Sun is becoming more unstable, and the solar storms are frequent and intense. Although these eruptions are a challenge to systems dependent on technology on Earth, they also give a great opportunity to study them.
AR4274 is well observed by experts due to the possibilities of further activity and further eruptions. Solar flares do not selectively impact human health at the ground level, but they may impact satellites, aviation, and power grids. As they assess the potential of correlated coronal mass ejections, space weather forecasters are supposed to provide revised alerts, which can cause geomagnetic storms in case they are directed at Earth.
The recent series of strong flares emphasizes that the Sun is dynamic, and it is necessary to ensure further vigilance as the solar activities continue to rise.
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