Space weather alert: Geomagnetic K-index of 4 was recorded by Global Incident Tracker on Friday, 28 August 2026 at 15:02 UTC. The event is classified as a space weather incident with a severity rating of Moderate, and was detected through SWPC.
Space Weather Message Code: ALTK04 Serial Number: 2681 Issue Time: 2026 Aug 28 1502 UTC ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 4 Threshold Reached: 2026 Aug 28 1500 UTC Synoptic Period: 1500-1800 Active Warning: YES Comment: NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 65 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude. Induced Currents - Weak power grid fluctuations can occur. Aurora - Aurora may be visible at high latitudes such as Canada and Alaska. Issued by the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. Geomagnetic storms of this level can affect power grids, satellite operations, GPS accuracy and high-latitude radio and aviation.
Understanding space weather events
Geomagnetic storms and solar activity that disrupt power grids, aviation, navigation and satellites. Incidents in this category vary widely in scale and cause, which is why we record each one individually and preserve the source attribution.
How severity is rated
Global Incident Tracker rates every event on a four-step scale — Minor, Moderate, Severe and Extreme — derived from the source signal: earthquake magnitude, official GDACS alert colour, or the volume of independent media reporting for news-derived incidents. This event is currently rated Moderate. Ratings can change as more information becomes available, and a rating is a monitoring signal rather than an official government assessment.
Safety guidance for space weather situations
- Keep a safe distance from the affected area and let emergency services work unobstructed.
- Rely on official local channels for instructions and avoid amplifying unverified reports.
- Prepare a basic emergency kit: water, medication, torch, power bank, documents and cash.
- Follow only official instructions from local authorities and emergency services — this page is a monitoring record, not an emergency alert.
Data and verification
This record was generated automatically from SWPC and de-duplicated against our archive. Early reports for any incident can be revised: locations get refined, magnitudes are recalculated and impact figures change as assessments arrive. We deliberately do not publish casualty numbers unless an official source states them. The original source report is linked at the top of this page.
Keep watching the situation on our live world incident map, browse every space weather events we track on the Space Weather tracker, or see today's global picture on the incidents today page.
Timeline and sources
Official warning
Issued by NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. A warning or forecast describes a hazard; on its own it is not a report that harm occurred.
How statuses are decided · the number of reports is never treated as confirmation.
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· received · event time 28 Aug 2026, 15:02 UTCFirst report Official warning
First recorded from NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.
Times are when this site received each report, in UTC; the event time is shown where the source gave one. Copies of one syndicated story count as one report.