The ESWW conference is an excellent opportunity for people from all over the world to gather and discuss the most recent insights in Space Weather and Space Climate, and to address the emerging challenges and impacts. Science, observations, data exploitation, data standards and metadata, service development, operational models, engineering and industrial needs are all important aspects of the field that are addressed.
The abstract submissions (and Live Forecasts proposals) for ESWW 2026 are open.
Important Dates
Opening date (oral+poster abstracts) - 13th April 2026
Closing date (oral abstracts) - 21st May 2026 (extended)
The abstract submission form is available here.
The guidelines for abstract submission are available here.
A synopsis of each element is given below. More information will be made available in due course as needed.
Plenary Sessions
This year, the ESWW will host four plenary sessions.
* The following two plenary sessions are dedicated to topics proposed by the community, adhering to the theme of the conference.
PL1 - Insights from an Operational Perspective: Challenges and Lessons Learned from Extreme Events in Solar Cycle 25
Conveners: Yana Maneva, Carina Alden, Claudio Corti, Krista Hammond
Extreme solar events pose significant challenges for space weather operations, forecasting, and mitigation strategies. It is the responsibility of operational entities to monitor, model, forecast, and communicate risks for the community to make necessary mitigation decisions. These are especially crucial when it comes to high impact events such as the May 2024 storms. However, it is rare for the end-users and research communities to see the full picture from an operational perspective.
In this Plenary Session, we focus on the operational experience gained during the present solar cycle (SC25), highlighting how extreme space weather events were detected, monitored, forecasted, and managed in near-real-time operational environments. This session will begin with a short overview of the most significant events which occurred so far in the ongoing solar cycle. We will then open the floor to panelists from different institutions and sectors to discuss the operational aspect of handling these events with specific examples. Discussions will focus on the practical experiences, including the challenges encountered monitoring, modeling, forecasting, and reporting of expected high-impact events with an emphasis on lessons learned. This session aims to identify both successful monitoring to mitigation instances as well as providing examples of where improvements can and need to be made. Additionally, this session offers the opportunity to discuss with different operational centers on how operational workflows, forecasting capabilities, and collaborative efforts can evolve to accommodate the challenges expected in upcoming solar cycles.
PL2 - The Future of Space Weather Prediction: Integrating Artificial Intelligence, Physical Models, Data and Operations
Conveners: Sabrina Guastavino, Dario Del Moro, Veronique Delouille, Hannah Rüdisser
Predicting Space Weather across multiple spatial and temporal scales remains one of the central challenges for the community. While physics-based models provide the fundamental framework for understanding the coupled Sun-heliosphere-magnetosphere-ionosphere system, the rapid growth of observational datasets, increasing computational power, and advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are opening new opportunities to enhance predictive capabilities across all scales. At the same time, operational forecasting services demand robust, reliable, and interpretable tools capable of supporting real-world decision making.
A key challenge is how to effectively integrate observations, data infrastructures, AI, and physics-based models, into coherent predictive frameworks that serve both scientific progress and operational needs. This challenge lies at the heart of the ESWW2026 theme and calls for a broad, cross-disciplinary conversation. This plenary session brings together experts from observations, modeling, AI, and operational forecasting to discuss recent advances and future directions in next-generation Space Weather prediction. Following short scene-setting contributions, the session will focus on a structured panel discussion addressing the exploitation of large multi-mission datasets, data assimilation strategies, hybrid and physics-guided machine learning approaches, and pathways toward operational implementation through Research-to-Operations-to-Research (R2O2R). The session aims to stimulate community discussion on how the combined use of data-driven and physics-based approaches can improve the accuracy, reliability, and operational relevance of Space Weather forecasting.
Only Panelist and Poster abstracts (up to 2000 characters, spaces included) for these plenary sessions can be submitted. Invited Panelists will be instructed by session conveners to submit a ‘Panelist’ abstract.
* The other two plenary sessions (PL3 and PL4) will feature distinguished presentations proposed by the convenors of parallel sessions, promoting parallel sessions to a broader audience. As such, no abstracts can be submitted to these two plenary sessions.
Parallel Sessions
Those interested in contributing an abstract (Oral or Poster, up to 2000 characters, spaces included) to a parallel session at ESWW2026 may submit to one of the following sessions:
SOL1 - Magnetic fields in the lower solar atmosphere - the engine behind solar wind and eruptive events
SOL2 - Solar Orbiter Cross-Scale Observations of the Origins of Space Weather
SOL3 - Bridging the inner solar atmosphere to the heliosphere: Integrating low-atmospheric physics into next-generation Space Weather forecasting
HEL1 - Advancing Cross-scale Space Weather at the Moon, Mars, and Beyond in Support of Science, Operations, and Exploration
HEL2 - Cosmic Rays in the Heliosphere
HEL3 - Radio instruments and diagnostics: from source regions to space weather applications
HEL4 - All about the solar wind and CMEs
MIT1 - Solar Wind Forcing and Coupled Magnetosphere–Ionosphere–Thermosphere Dynamics
MIT2 - Cross-scale GNSS-based monitoring of ionospheric irregularities: from physics to operational space weather services
SWI - SW effects on Infrastructure - Advances in the assessment of geomagnetically induced currents and ground geoelectric fields
SCL1 - Long-term Solar Variability: Observations, Proxies, and Models
SCL2 - Extreme Solar Events: From Solar Origin to Cosmogenic Isotope Signatures
IOM1 - Preparing for L5 and Beyond: Operational and Scientific Readiness for the ESA Vigil Mission and Future Heliospheric Observations
IOM2 - Space Weather Missions - From Science to Operations
IOM3 - Operational and Prototype Data Products Derived from Low-Earth Orbit, Near-Earth, and Upstream Observations
IOM4 - Radiation Instrumentation for In-Situ Space Weather Monitoring Across the Solar System
OTH1 - Validation of Space Weather Models, Forecasts, and Services: From Research to Operations
OTH2 - Operational Space Weather Forecasting: Systems, Workflows, and Coordination Across Forecast Centres
OTH3 - Machine Learning and Data Science for Geospace and Space Weather
OTH4 - Education and Outreach in Space Weather: Engaging Communities and Shaping the Next Generation
OPS - Open session
A complete description of the Parallel Sessions is available here.
Live Forecasts
There is an established tradition at ESWW for a different forecast centre to present a Live Space Weather Forecast, before/after the morning plenary sessions. This provides an excellent opportunity for forecast centres to showcase their expertise and to highlight any communication channels they utilise. The Live Forecast allows attendees to reflect on the real-world impact of space weather and how we, as a community, can enhance our communication of these complex concepts to end-users and to the public.
This year the ESWW Programme Committee (PC) will select four forecast centres. Each day, from Monday 2nd to Friday 6th November (excluding Wednesday), one of the centres will present a Live Space Weather Forecast in the main theatre, either in-person or virtually. The forecast is expected to last no more than 5 minutes.
If you are interested in presenting one of the daily forecasts, please send an email to the PC Point of Contact, iulia [dot] chifu [at] uni-goettingen [dot] de and cc the Local Organising Committee (LOC), esww2026 [dot] loc [at] gmail [dot] com.