

Editors’ Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU’s journal editors.
Source: Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists
Our modern society is increasingly reliant on multiple technologies that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of space weather. This necessitates effective public communication and awareness of various space weather phenomena as well as increased public engagement and preparedness for risk mitigation.
Chabanski et al. [2025] advocate for the development and implementation of a standardized naming convention of geomagnetic storms, along the lines of existing naming conventions in meteorology, astronomy, and geography.
The authors surveyed the top 50 geomagnetic storms over the past 47 years (since 1978), of which only five had names assigned by the scientific community. Drawing on lessons learned in other scientific disciplines, they propose the possible formation of an international working team comprised of International Space Weather Coordination Forum participants. This international team would implement a theoretical framework and a unified international standard for defining the criteria, protocols, and procedures for naming and cataloguing geomagnetic storms based on their minimum Disturbance Storm Time (Dst) indices and their solar origins.
This proposed initiative is about not only assigning names to geomagnetic storms but also empowering the public with the knowledge necessary to navigate the challenges of the 21st-century space environment.
Citation: Chabanski, S., de Montety, F., Lilensten, J., Poedts, S., & Spogli, L. (2025). The power of a name: Toward a unified approach to naming space weather events. Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists, 6, e2025CN000285. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025CN000285
—Andrew Yau, Editor, Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists
Text © 2025. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
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