MOSCOW, March 14. /TASS/. The first prolonged magnetic storm of the spring has been raging on Earth for more than nine hours, the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Space Research and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported.

"A planetary magnetic storm has been detected since around midnight Moscow time. The phenomenon is linked to a sharp increase in the speed of the solar wind near Earth, which, in turn, is caused by a coronal hole on the Sun. The storm is unusually consistent, with the index remaining at the same G1.7, corresponding to a moderate event, for the entire nine hours it has lasted," the report states.

The agency noted that this was the first significant magnetic storm of March. Another event was observed on March 4, but it was brief and not caused by external factors.

"Last year, which was marked as the most geomagnetically active in a decade, saw 19% of such events. In other words, the year is currently on track to set a record," the laboratory emphasized.