The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said a powerful solar flare that erupted on Wednesday could temporarily disrupt high-frequency radio communications.

The solar flare was classified as an X4.2, placing it in the most intense category.

X-class flares are the strongest type, with the numerical rating indicating their relative strength.

NOAA said flares of such magnitude were uncommon but not unusual during the solar maximum and peak phase of the sun’s roughly 11-year activity cycle.

The agency said that such flares could be brief and impulsive, lasting minutes, or persist for several hours.

It warned that the flare could cause immediate and widespread degradation or loss of HF radio signals across much of the sunlit side of Earth.

Users in affected regions may experience disruptions ranging from brief interruptions to outages lasting several hours.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy from the sun that can affect radio communications, electric power grids, and navigation systems, and may pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts. 

(Xinhua/NAN)