Space Weather

Forecast of 30-minute maximum local dB/dt (horizontal component) at selected locations (red dots).
The forecasts are driven by SWPC RT solar wind data.
The marked region shows interpolated values with colours according to the colour bar in units of nT/min.

Data lies at the heart of ESA's Space Weather activities. Many of the user requirements and components to be delivered as part of the SWE segment make reference to requirements on the availability of and access to nowcasting and forecasting data. This includes real-time and near-real-time delivery of measurement and modelling data.

The General Forecast service provides access to the nowcasting and forecasting data included in the ESA SWE service network.

This service is implemented through a combination of products, tools and alerts which can be found through the following tabs along with expert support provided by the teams constituting the SWE Network. Should you require further guidance in the use of this service, or have specific questions about any aspects of the service presented here, don’t hesitate to contact the Helpdesk.

The service is implemented through the following set of assets:

• The Solar Influences Data analysis Centre (SIDC) provides products such as Solar EUV images, International sunspot number, Solar flare forecast, etc.
• IRF, by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF Lund), provides forecast of Kp, Dst and dB/dt
• A-EFFort is a product from the Research Center for Astronomy and Applied Mathematics (Academy of Athens). It provides 24hr forecast of major solar flares.
• The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) provides data on the Kp index as well as products from the Swarm satellite mission;
• The SWIFF Plasmasphere Model (SPM) dynamical simulation provides the number density and temperatures of the electrons as a function of time;
• Real-Time Ionosphere Monitor (RTIM) provided by the Norwegian Mapping Authority (NMA);
• European Ionosonde Service (EIS) provided by National Observatory of Athens (NOA);
• Swarm Utilisation Analysis (SUA) provided by GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences;
• Geomagnetically Induced Currents nowcast by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI);
• The Empirical Solar Wind Forecast (ESWF), by the University of Graz, uses an empirical relation to derive the solar wind speed at Earth distance.
• Atmospheric Density Estimates for SST users (ATMDEN) provided by UK MetOffice;
• Nowcast and Forecast of Geomagnetic and Solar Activity Indices for SST users (FORIND) provided by the Romanian Institute of Space Science (ISS);

All data and service products contributing to the General forecast service can be accessed from the product catalogue matrix in the "Products" tab. These products are ordered and categorised as per the ESA product specification documents according to the physical domain and product types.

User help and guidelines for each of the individual products can be accessed through the Help entry within the individual product page.

For alerts please consult the general alert service (GEN/alm).

This section provides links to web pages or resources that are not part of the ESA Space Weather Network or esa.int domain. These sites are not under ESA control, and therefore ESA is not responsible for any of the information or links that you may find there.