[Ips-dsgr] ASWFC Daily Report - 04 January 26 issued 2330 UT on 04 Jan 2026 [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre aswfc at bom.gov.au
Mon Jan 5 10:30:49 AEDT 2026


SUBJ: ASWFC DAILY SOLAR AND GEOPHYSICAL REPORT
ISSUED AT 2330UT/04 JANUARY 2026
FROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE WEATHER FORECASTING CENTRE
SUMMARY FOR 04 JANUARY AND FORECAST FOR 05 JANUARY - 07 JANUARY
STATUS INDICATORS SOL:** YELLOW **   MAG:** YELLOW **     ION: GREEN
ASWAS SCALE DESCRIPTION: https://bit.ly/3lmaMBx
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1A. SOLAR SUMMARY
Activity 04 Jan:  R0

Flares: none.

Observed 10.7 cm flux/Equivalent Sunspot Number for 04 Jan: 157/111


1B. SOLAR FORECAST
             05 Jan             06 Jan             07 Jan
Activity     R1, chance R2      R1, chance R2      R1
Fadeouts     Possible           Possible           Possible
10.7cm/SSN   155/109            150/105            145/99

COMMENT: Solar activity on UT day 04-Jan was at the R0 level, 
with no significant flare activity observed over the past 24 
hours. There are currently seven active regions on the Sun, with 
Active Region (AR) 4325 (S09W47, beta) being the largest. This 
region has shown minor decay over the last UT day. Active Region 
4334 (S15E50, alpha) has exhibited some growth over the same 
period. Newly numbered AR 4336 has recently rotated onto the 
front side of the disk at S08W77 and currently displays an alpha 
magnetic classification. All other regions are either stable 
or in decay. Solar activity is forecast to reach the R1 level, 
with a chance of R2 over 05-06 Jan due to the past flare activity 
of AR 4325 and 4324. This is expected to decline to R1 on 07-Jan 
as these regions rotate towards the western limb. S0 solar radiation 
storm conditions were observed over the past 24 hours, with the 
proton flux at background levels. S0 conditions are forecast 
to persist over the period 05-07 Jan. No new geoeffective Coronal 
Mass Ejections (CMEs) were observed over the past UT day. The 
solar wind speed was slightly elevated on 04-Jan, ranging between 
420 - 460 km/s throughout most of the day. This has become elevated 
over the last few hours, with current speeds between 470-500 
km/s, likely due to a glancing impact from a CME first observed 
on 01-Jan. The interplanetary magnetic field strength (IMF, Bt) 
was low throughout most of UT day 04-Jan, but has recently risen 
to a peak of 10 nT due to the CME arrival. The north-south component 
(Bz) ranged between -8 and +5 nT during the past 24 hours, with 
a period of extended southward Bz between 04/2045 - 2220 UT. 
The solar wind is expected to remain elevated during the early 
part of 05-Jan due to the ongoing impact of this CME. The solar 
wind speed will then trend towards background levels over 06-07 
Jan, as the effects of this CME diminish.

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2A. MAGNETIC SUMMARY

Geomagnetic field for Australian Region 04 Jan: G0

Estimated Indices 04 Jan : A   K           
   Australian Region       5   11020223
      Cocos Island         4   01110223
      Darwin               7   11111224
      Townsville           5   11021223
      Learmonth            5   01120223
      Alice Springs        5   11020223
      Gingin               4   11020222
      Canberra             4   10010223
      Kennaook Cape Grim   5   11020223
      Hobart               4   11020123    

Estimated Antarctic Regional K Indices 04 Jan :
      Macquarie Island     1   00000012
      Casey                9   23222133
      Mawson               8   21121224

Observed Regional daily pc3 Indices 04 Jan : 
      Darwin               0   (Quiet)
      Townsville           0   (Quiet)
      Learmonth            0   (Quiet)
      Alice Springs        0   (Quiet)
      Gingin               2   (Quiet)
      Canberra             7   (Quiet)
      Hobart              16   (Quiet)

Pc3 pulsations are high frequency (10-45 second period) variations 
of the Earths magnetic field. Daily pc3-indices are the daily sum 
of 20 minute pc3-indices for that station and have been shown to be
well correlated with rejection of high resolution aeromagnetic
survey flight-line data. 

NOTE: Indices may have been generated from data obtained in 
cooperation with the following organisations: Geoscience Australia, 
University of Newcastle Space Physics Group, Australian Government 
Antarctic Division and International Center for Space Weather 
Science and Education, Japan.


Estimated AFr/Ap Indices 04 Jan : A 
           Fredericksburg         7
           Planetary             12                         

Observed AFr/Ap Indices 03 Jan :  A   K
           Fredericksburg        10
           Planetary             12   3322 3331     


2B. MAGNETIC FORECAST 
Date      Ap    Conditions
05 Jan    16    G0, chance G1
06 Jan     9    G0
07 Jan     7    G0

COMMENT: G0 geomagnetic conditions were observed throughout the 
Australian region on 04-Jan. G0 conditions were also observed 
in the Antarctic region, as well as reported at the planetary 
level. G0 conditions, with a chance of G1, are expected for 05-Jan, 
due to the effects of a Coronal Mass Ejection impact with Earth. 
G0 conditions are forecast for 06-07 Jan as these effects wane.

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3A. GLOBAL HF PROPAGATION SUMMARY
	            Latitude Band
Date        Low            Middle         High 
04 Jan      Fair-normal    Fair-normal    Fair-normal    

PCA Event : No event.

3B. GLOBAL HF PROPAGATION FORECAST
	            Latitude Band
Date        Low            Middle         High 
05 Jan      Fair-normal    Fair-normal    Fair-normal
06 Jan      Normal-fair    Normal-fair    Fair-normal
07 Jan      Normal         Normal         Fair

COMMENT: Global ionospheric conditions were Fair-Normal over 
04-Jan, with depressions observed in the European region during 
local night hours, where MUFs were depressed by up to 15%. Degradations 
were also observed in the Asian region during local dawn. Ionospheric 
conditions are expected to remain Fair-Normal on 05-Jan due to 
ongoing geomagnetic activity, improving to Normal on 06-07 Jan. 
Shortwave fadeouts are possible.

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4A. AUSTRALIAN REGION IONOSPHERIC SUMMARY


Date   T index
04 Jan   139

Observed Australian Regional MUFs
   Cocos Island Region:
      No data available during local day.
      No data available during local night.
   Niue Island Region:
      Near predicted monthly values.
   Northern Australian Region:
      Enhanced by 25% during local day.
      Enhanced by 40% during local night.
   Southern Australian Region:
      Enhanced by 15% during local day.
      Enhanced by 20% during local night.
   Antarctic Region (Casey/Davis/Mawson):
      Near predicted monthly values over the UT day.

Monthly T index:
Month  T index
Dec      110
Jan      89
Feb      88

4B. AUSTRALIAN REGION IONOSPHERIC FORECAST
Date   T index  MUFs
05 Jan    70    Depressed 5 to 10%/near predicted monthly values
06 Jan   105    Near predicted monthly values
07 Jan   100    Near predicted monthly values

COMMENT: ASWFC SWF HF Communications Warning 3 was issued on 
4 January and is current for 4-5 Jan. Maximum usable frequencies 
(MUFs) were enhanced 15-25% compared with predicted monthly values 
during UT day 04-Jan in the Australian region, with enhancements 
up to 40% observed in the northern Australian region during local 
night hours. MUFs were near predicted monthly values at Niue 
Island as well as in the Antarctic region. Strong low-frequency 
sporadic-E was observed across the Australian region during local 
night hours, with mild spread F observed in the southern Australian 
region. MUFs are forecast to be up to 10% depressed on 05-Jan 
due to a recent CME arrival. These conditions are expected to 
improve over 06-07 Jan as these effects abate. Shortwave fadeouts 
are possible, and sporadic-E may be observed during local night 
hours.

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5. SPACE ENVIRONMENT SUMMARY

GOES satellite data for 03 Jan
       Daily Proton Fluence >1 MeV:   4.7E+05
       Daily Proton Fluence >10 MeV:  1.6E+04
       Daily Electron Fluence >2 MeV: 6.90E+07   (normal fluence)
Electron Fluence Daily Deep Dielectric Discharge Probability: 8%
Fluence (flux accumulation over 24hrs)/ cm2-ster-day.
       X-ray background: C1.1

DSCOVR Satellite Solar Wind Day Averaged Data for 03 Jan
Speed: 507 km/sec  Density:    0.9 p/cc  Temp:   174000 K  Bz:  -1 nT

(Courtesy Space Weather Prediction Center, Boulder USA)
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Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
ASWFC at bom.gov.au
www.bom.gov.au | www.sws.bom.gov.au



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