El Ciudadano
Original article: Electrochorro Ecuatorial avisó un minuto antes el terremoto que ocurrió en Venezuela el 24 de junio de 2026
Data from the Kourou magnetic observatory (KOU) reveals an alteration in the ionospheric current 60 seconds prior to the double seismic event measuring 7.2 and 7.5 that rocked Yaracuy state, providing insights into monitoring seismic precursors.
By Bruno Sommer Catalán
The Discovery: A Warning from the Ionosphere
At 22:04:33 UTC on June 24, 2026, two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck the Yaracuy region of Venezuela with only 40 seconds apart, marking the strongest seismic activity in over a century for the country.
What remains unknown until now is that, one minute before the ground ruptured, an electric current located over 100 kilometers high was already sending warning signals. This phenomenon is known as the Equatorial Electrojet (EEJ), a flow of charged particles in the ionosphere above the equatorial region, which I focused on for this report, especially since there was no geomagnetic storm forecasted that day to disrupt the Kp index (the predicted storm didn’t occur).
For the analysis, I obtained information from the geomagnetic observatory in Kourou (KOU, French Guiana), which recorded minute-to-minute fluctuations of the magnetic field during those days. Upon examining the data, a clear anomaly was discovered that could not be explained by solar causes: there was no geomagnetic storm that day, yet the electrojet behaved erratically just before the earthquake.
The Evidence in Numbers
The table below summarizes values of the horizontal component X (the component most sensitive to the electrojet) and the total field S during the critical minutes of June 24, 2026:
| Time (UTC) | X (nT) | S (nT) | Observation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22:00 | 26442.58 | 28322.41 | Stable baseline |
| 22:01 | 26442.87 | 28322.56 | Normal |
| 22:02 | 26442.85 | 28322.34 | Normal |
| 22:03 | 26443.92 | 28323.32 |  FIRST JUMP (+1.07 nT in X) |
| 22:04 | 26444.57 | 28323.81 |  EARTHQUAKE (22:04:33 UTC) |
| 22:05 | 26445.03 | 28324.22 | Continues to rise |
| 22:06 | 26445.67 | 28324.84 | Ascending peak |
| 22:07 | 26446.16 | 28325.27 |  MAXIMUM OF X |
| 22:08 | 26446.28 | 28325.25 | MAXIMUM OF S |
| 22:09 | 26445.43 | 28324.39 |  Start of decline |
| 22:10 | 26443.82 | 28322.81 | Abrupt drop |
| 22:11 | 26441.45 | 28321.16 | Recovery to normalcy |
The electrojet began to surge unusually at 22:03 UTC, one minute before the first seismic event. The peak of the disturbance occurred at 22:08 UTC, four minutes post-earthquake, before dropping sharply.
How is This Possible? The Physics Behind the Warning
The connection between an earthquake and the ionosphere is not fanciful or a conspiracy theory, as some comments have suggested before the publication of this article; rather, it rests on a solid physical foundation:
- Acoustic and gravity waves: The earthquake releases colossal energy, generating seismic waves. Upon reaching the surface, these excite pressure waves in the atmosphere (infrasound acoustic waves) that travel vertically upwards.
- Journey to the ionosphere: In just a few minutes, these waves reach the ionosphere (100-300 km altitude), where the atmosphere is so tenuous that particle movements are amplified.
- Disturbance of the electric field: The waves alter electron density and local electric fields. The Equatorial Electrojet, a current driven by ionospheric winds and electric fields, is directly affected.
- The precursor: Remarkably, the alteration was detected before the seismic waves reached the surface. This suggests that certain processes preceding the final rupture (such as the release of radon gas, changes in the ground electric field, or microfractures) may have generated acoustic waves that traveled faster than the seismic waves, providing that one-minute warning.
Implications for Seismic Prediction
This finding is not isolated. Previous studies have documented ionospheric disturbances before major earthquakes, like the one in Turkey in 2023 or Japan in 2011. However, the clarity of the signal in the Equatorial Electrojet, with a one-minute lead time, opens a promising opportunity for early warning systems.
- Advantage: One minute may seem short, but in densely populated areas with automated alert systems, those 60 seconds can save lives by allowing trains to stop, elevator doors to close, or alarms to activate.
- Challenge: The signal is not always clear; it depends on the earthquake’s magnitude, depth, the time of day, and ionospheric conditions. Furthermore, magnetic observatories are required to distinguish between seismic signals and normal fluctuations in space weather.
The Equatorial Electrojet is not only a fascinating phenomenon in upper atmosphere physics but has emerged as a silent sentinel of major earthquakes. On June 24, 2026, in Venezuela, this sentinel spoke one minute before the earth rumbled.
While we are not yet able to predict earthquakes with certainty, it is increasingly clear that the ionosphere holds secrets that, if interpreted timely, could provide the valuable seconds we need to protect ourselves. Science is advancing, and this episode is further evidence that the Earth and its atmosphere are interconnected in ways we are just beginning to comprehend.
So, does the EEJ cease to behave as a stationary system before a significant reorganization of the Earth System?
Today, technology allows for something that was nearly impossible just a decade ago.
We can simultaneously combine information from:
- INTERMAGNET, with observations of Earth’s magnetic field;
- GNSS networks like SIRGAS and COCONet, which enable TEC calculation and detect ionospheric irregularities;
- The OMNI system, which records solar wind, interplanetary magnetic field, and geomagnetic indices;
- Copernicus Sentinel satellites, capable of observing ground deformations, surface temperature, and atmospheric composition;
- Global seismic catalogs.
Never before has it been possible to integrate so many layers of the Earth System with this temporal and spatial resolution.
Thus, from this vision emerges a working hypothesis that still does not form part of scientific consensus but can be formulated rigorously and tested.
The central idea is simple:
Major disturbances in the Earth System could be preceded by changes in the dynamic organization of the coupled lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere system, rather than by evident amplitude anomalies.
If this hypothesis is correct, the EEJ would not be a direct predictor of earthquakes. However, it could be one of several sensors capable of detecting that the entire system is reorganizing.
NOTE
It would be irresponsible to claim today that the Equatorial Electrojet allows for earthquake prediction.
There is not enough evidence to support that assertion, but serious scientific studies do exist regarding this matter.
It would also be premature to entirely dismiss the possibility that the EEJ contains information about the dynamic state of the Earth System that we have not yet learned to interpret.
In modern physics of complex systems, state changes are often announced long before significant visible disturbances occur.
The real question is no longer whether the EEJ increases before an earthquake.
The question is: Does the Earth System silently reorganize before changing state?
Answering it will require years of work, millions of records, artificial intelligence, and an unprecedented integration of geophysics, data science, and complex systems theory, as well as refining magnetometer stations and other equipment, giving rise to EarthSync.
But if we ever manage to answer it, we may be witnessing a new way to observe our planet, not as a collection of independent layers, but as a cohesive dynamic system whose story we are still learning to read.
*Report based on data analysis from the KOU observatory (Kourou) and the seismic events recorded on June 24, 2026, in Venezuela.
**Journalistic investigation in memory of the deceased families and rescuers.
Definition
The Equatorial Electrojet (EEJ) is a natural electric current flowing from east to west in the Earth’s ionosphere, at an altitude of approximately 90 to 120 kilometers above the magnetic equator. It is generated by the interaction between solar radiation, the high conductivity of the ionosphere, and upper-atmospheric winds, forming part of the current system known as the equatorial dynamo.
The EEJ plays a fundamental role in space weather dynamics, influencing electron distribution, the behavior of Total Electron Content (TEC), and satellite navigation signal propagation (GNSS). Its intensity varies daily and responds to both solar activity and atmospheric processes, making it one of the primary indicators used to study the interactions between the atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere.
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