- On 27 September 2026 the Schumann resonance was raised: the amplitude is up.
- Amplitude of the first mode peaked at 2.0 times its usual level.
- The frequency of the first mode is 7.74 Hz, with a swing of 0.49 Hz over 24 hours; its long-term mean is 7.83 Hz.
- Stability on 27 September 2026: stable; changes from one half-hour to the next are 1.0 times the usual size.
- The quality factor of the first mode is 5.3 (usual value 5.1).
- Readings come from the Space Observing System in Tomsk, which has measured the resonance continuously since 1997.
Three criteria of the day: amplitude, stability, frequency
The Schumann resonance is not one number. Each criterion is scored from 0 to 3, and the level of the day is the highest of the three.
| Criterion | State | Value | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amplitude | Raised | 2.0× usual | How strong the signal is: the strongest half-hour of the first mode against the usual level. |
| Stability | Stable | jumps 1.0× usual | How much amplitude and frequency jump from one half-hour to the next, against the usual. |
| Frequency | Near its usual value | 7.74 Hz (−0.06), swing 0.49 Hz | How far the first mode has moved from its usual frequency and how wide it swings in 24 hours. |
Schumann resonance charts for the day
Amplitude, frequency and quality factor of the first mode in half-hour steps.
Amplitude, mode 1
Dashed line: usual level. Shaded band: from twice the usual level.
Frequency, mode 1
Dashed line: usual frequency at this station.
Quality factor, mode 1
Dashed line: usual quality factor. A higher value means a sharper, cleaner resonance.
All four modes: frequency, amplitude, quality factor
Averages over the same 24 hours. Amplitude is the peak against the usual level of that mode.
| Mode | Frequency, Hz | Against usual | Amplitude peak | Quality factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st mode 7.83 Hz | 7.74 | −0.06 | 2.0× | 5.3 |
| 2nd mode 14.3 Hz | 13.80 | −0.13 | 2.0× | 7.8 |
| 3rd mode 20.8 Hz | 19.93 | +0.14 | 1.4× | 6.1 |
| 4th mode 27.3 Hz | 25.68 | +0.16 | 1.5× | 6.3 |
Schumann resonance by day
Each day by the three criteria. The level is the highest of them.
| Day | Level | Amplitude peak | Frequency | Swing | Stability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 27 Sep | Raised | 2.0× | 7.74 | 0.49 | Stable · 1.0× |
| Sat 26 Sep | Raised | 1.4× | 7.85 | 0.48 | Stable · 0.9× |
| Fri 25 Sep | High | 2.3× | 7.83 | 0.56 | Variable · 1.6× |
| Thu 24 Sep | Very high | 4.2× | 7.75 | 0.67 | Jumpy · 3.3× |
| Wed 23 Sep | Raised | 1.4× | 7.79 | — | — |
What is the Schumann resonance?
The Schumann resonance is a set of natural electromagnetic waves that circle the Earth in the space between the ground and the ionosphere. That space, about 60 to 100 km high, works like a resonant cavity: a wave that fits the Earth’s circumference exactly reinforces itself. The lowest such wave has a frequency of about 7.83 Hz; the next ones lie near 14, 20, 26 and 33 Hz.
The waves are kept going by lightning. Roughly 50 flashes happen every second, most of them over the tropics, and each one sends a pulse around the planet. The physicist Winfried Otto Schumann predicted the resonance in 1952; Balser and Wagner measured it in 1960.
Schumann resonance parameters: what is measured
The strength of each mode. It follows global thunderstorm activity and can double or triple within an hour. Given here against the usual level of the last 30 days.
Where the peak of each mode sits. The first mode moves between about 7.4 and 8.2 Hz with the time of day and the state of the ionosphere.
The sharpness of the resonance peak: frequency divided by the width of the peak. A high value means a clean, narrow resonance, a low one a blurred peak. It depends on the lower ionosphere.
How evenly the parameters run. We measure the average change between neighbouring half-hours and compare it with the usual. A jumpy day has abrupt rises and drops.
Why jumps matter more than the level
A steady signal, even a strong one, is a constant background. What people who follow the resonance describe is the change: a sudden burst of amplitude, a frequency that swings wider than usual, a resonance that loses its sharpness for a few hours. That is why this page scores stability separately from amplitude.
Studies that looked for a link with the body also worked with changes. Heart rate variability and blood pressure were compared with the rise and fall of resonance power, not with its absolute value. They found associations in groups of people; how strongly one person reacts differs from person to person.
How the Schumann resonance may feel
The first mode lies in the same frequency range as the brain’s alpha and theta rhythms. People who track the resonance most often describe days with bursts and jumps, not quiet days with a steady signal.
- Restless or lighter sleep
- Tiredness, a heavy head, pressure in the temples
- Feeling wired or irritable without a clear reason
- Changes in blood pressure and pulse
- Many people notice nothing
Several studies found associations between changes in resonance power and blood pressure, heart rate variability and reaction time. The studies are small and do not show a cause, and the signal itself is very weak, about one picotesla. This page describes conditions and is not medical advice.
Why the parameters change
Amplitude follows thunderstorms. The three main lightning regions, Southeast Asia, Africa and South America, reach their afternoon maximum at about 09, 15 and 20 UTC, so the signal has a daily rhythm.
Frequency and quality factor follow the ionosphere, the upper wall of the cavity. Day and night change its height; solar flares and geomagnetic storms disturb it, and the frequencies shift and the peaks blur. A thunderstorm near the station shows as a burst.
Is the Schumann resonance rising?
No. The base frequency has stayed close to 7.83 Hz since it was first measured. Reports that it has “risen to 36 Hz” come from a misreading of the colour charts: the vertical axis of a spectrogram runs to 40 Hz, and a strong burst lights up the whole column.
A white column on the chart means a short burst of high amplitude across many frequencies. It shows on this page as a high amplitude and a jumpy day, not as a new frequency.
What you can do on a jumpy day
Questions people ask
What is the Schumann resonance today?
The first line of this page gives today’s level. The strip below it shows the three criteria: amplitude against the usual level, the frequency of the first mode with its swing, and stability. Values are read from the Tomsk observatory every 30 minutes.
Which parameters does the Schumann resonance have?
Three for every mode: amplitude (strength), frequency (position of the peak) and quality factor (sharpness of the peak). The observatory measures them for the first four modes. This page adds a fourth indicator, stability: how much the parameters jump between half-hours.
What does 7.83 Hz mean?
It is the long-term mean frequency of the first Schumann mode: the lowest frequency at which an electromagnetic wave fits once around the Earth inside the cavity between the ground and the ionosphere. On a given day the first mode moves between about 7.4 and 8.2 Hz.
Is the Schumann resonance spiking today?
A spike is a short burst of amplitude. The charts show every half-hour of the last three days; a day counts as high when the peak reaches twice the usual level, and as jumpy when half-hour changes are more than twice the usual.
What is the quality factor of the Schumann resonance?
The quality factor, or Q, is the frequency of a mode divided by the width of its peak. For the first mode it is usually between 4 and 6. When the lower ionosphere is disturbed, the peak widens and Q drops.
Has the Schumann resonance changed to 36 Hz or 40 Hz?
No. The base frequency stays close to 7.83 Hz. The number 36 or 40 comes from the frequency axis of the spectrogram, not from the resonance itself.
Does the Schumann resonance affect sleep, blood pressure or mood?
People who follow it report restless sleep, tiredness and pressure changes on days with bursts and jumps. Studies found associations with blood pressure and heart rate variability in groups of people, without showing a cause. Reactions differ from person to person.
Are the Schumann resonance and a geomagnetic storm the same thing?
No. A geomagnetic storm is a disturbance of the Earth’s magnetic field caused by the solar wind and is measured by the Kp index. The Schumann resonance is driven by lightning. A storm changes it through the ionosphere: frequencies shift and the quality factor drops.
Where do the readings come from, and why is there sometimes none?
From the Space Observing System of Tomsk State University. We read its charts every 30 minutes and keep our own archive. The station occasionally stops publishing for a few hours or a day; the page then shows the last reading with its time.
- Space Observing System, Tomsk State University (sos70.ru): amplitude, frequency and quality factor of the first four Schumann modes, spectrogram.
- Schumann W. O. Über die strahlungslosen Eigenschwingungen einer leitenden Kugel, die von einer Luftschicht und einer Ionosphärenhülle umgeben ist. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung A, 1952.
- Balser M., Wagner C. A. Observations of Earth–ionosphere cavity resonances. Nature, 1960.
- Williams E. R. The Schumann resonance: a global tropical thermometer. Science, 1992.
- Nickolaenko A., Hayakawa M. Schumann Resonance for Tyros. Springer, 2014.
- Mitsutake G. et al. Does Schumann resonance affect our blood pressure? Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 2005.
- McCraty R. et al. Synchronization of human autonomic nervous system rhythms with geomagnetic activity in human subjects. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2017.
- Cherry N. Schumann resonances, a plausible biophysical mechanism for the human health effects of solar/geomagnetic activity. Natural Hazards, 2002.
Amplitude, frequency and quality factor of the first four modes are read from the observatory’s charts every 30 minutes and stored in half-hour steps. The observatory gives amplitude without units, so it is compared with the usual level: the median of our last 30 days. Stability is the average change between neighbouring half-hours against the usual. The level of the day is the highest of three scores: amplitude, stability, frequency. If the amplitude chart cannot be read, mode-1 amplitude is estimated from the spectrogram and marked as an estimate.