THE world needs to wake up to the threat of solar storms which could cause a trillion-pound technological meltdown, the Government’s chief scientific adviser has warned.
A 10-year lull in the sun’s activities has coincided with the growth of a number of vulnerable satellite-based technologies, including the internet and GPS, said Professor Sir John Beddington.
But the sun was due to become more turbulent as it approaches the next “solar maximum” peak in its activity cycle in around 2013.
Experts fear a “perfect solar storm” blasting the Earth with energetic particles could have a catastrophic impact on communications and commerce.
