Taiwan may see limited disruptions caused by severe solar storm: CWA

Taipei, May 10 (CNA) People in Taiwan are not expected to be affected by disruptions caused by a severe solar flare, which is expected to hit Earth early Saturday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Friday.

The impact of the solar flare, characterized by sudden bursts of brightness in specific areas of the sun's atmosphere, could last for a day and disrupt high-frequency radio communication, the CWA said in a report.

But the extreme space event is not likely to affect the general public, as everyday communication devices such as mobile phones, wireless networks and Bluetooth use different frequency bands, the administration said.

Still, the disruptions could potentially impact aviation operating, navigation and positioning systems, it said.

The solar storm, along with coronal mass ejections, came from a particularly bustling sunspot, labeled as "AR3664," during an eruption on May 8, according to the CWA.

The intensity of the geomagnetic storm was rated "X," the most potent in the flare classification scale, followed by M, C and B classes, it said.

The current solar flare coincides with the sun's peak activity in approximately 11 years, potentially leading to about 60 days of similar incidents, the CWA said.