Abstract <p>Observational aspects of the formation of near-surface toroidal magnetic fields on the Sun were considered. Based on the analysis of magnetic field observations in the period 2010–2024, diagrams of the distribution of horizontal magnetic fields and magnetic bipoles of ephemeral regions in the solar cycle were obtained. The obtained diagrams are close to the concept of an extended cycle of solar activity. The formation of surface azimuthal magnetic fields was modeled based on the evolution of U-shaped magnetic bipoles of active regions. The modeling took into account near-equatorial bipoles with a magnetic field propagating through the solar equator; this made it possible to achieve good agreement with the duration of the azimuthal field polarity at low latitudes.</p>