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The occurrence of space weather events, notably geomagnetic storms driven by various solar wind structures, can significantly alter Earth’s electromagnetic environment. In this study, we examined the interplanetary origins and statistical distribution of 384 geomagnetic storms (Dstmin ≤ −50 nT) that occurred from September 1996 to December 2023. We statistically analyzed the correlations between storm intensity and solar wind parameters (SWPs) across different subsets. The results indicate that (1) the solar activity level, indicated by the sunspot number (SSN), and the number of geomagnetic storms during the first four years of the 25th solar cycle were intermediate, compared to the first four years of the 23rd and 24th solar cycles. Specifically, ICME-related structures caused 80% of the strong storms (Dstmin ≤ −100 nT) and 34% of the moderate storms (−100 nT 13 h), the continuous energy input further enhanced correlations with both peak and integral values of SWPs, leading to stronger overall correlations with storm intensity. This analysis sheds light on the intricate relationships between geomagnetic storms and their solar wind drivers, emphasizing the significant influence of ICME-related structures and the duration of southward IMF on storm intensity.
Sun et al. (Mon,) studied this question.