Regional Differences in Ionospheric Responses over Africa during the 19 - 20 January 2026 Storm Event

This study investigates the ionospheric responses over Africa during the intense geomagnetic storm events on 19 - 20 January, 2026 (Dst min = -236 nT), with emphasis on regional differences across equatorial and low-latitude stations, where ionospheric disturbances are typically more pronounced. The stations considered are Kantagora, Nigeria: NGR (Lat: 10.40^oN; Long: 5.47^oE), Libreville, Gabon: GAB (Lat: 0.35^oN; Long: 9.67^oE), Malindi, Kenya: KEN (Lat: 3.00^oS; Long: 40.19^oE) and Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast: IVCO (Lat: 6.87^oN; Long: 5.24^oW). Variations in Total Electron Content (TEC) and ionospheric scintillation were analyzed to characterize the storm-time response and assess spatial variability. The results reveal marked longitudinal differences in storm-time TEC behavior. Significant TEC enhancements were observed at GAB, IVCO and NGR stations, whereas the KEN station experienced pronounced TEC depletion during the storm main phase. In contrast, TEC enhancement at KEN occurred only during the recovery phase, suggesting the combined influence of longitudinal differences, local time and storm recovery processes. The comparatively lower TEC values recorded at KEN during the main phase indicate reduced ionospheric delay relative to the other stations under similar storm conditions. Statistical analysis further demonstrated significant spatial variability in TEC, with differences in both mean TEC and day-to-day fluctuations among the stations, highlighting the highly dynamic and regional dependent nature of ionospheric responses during geomagnetic storms. Despite the pronounced TEC perturbations, no ionospheric scintillation events were detected for any observed satellite Psuedo Random Number (PRN) at any of the stations throughout the study period. These findings improve the understanding of storm-time ionospheric variability over Africa and provide useful insights for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) positioning and space weather applications in the equatorial and low-latitude regions.