Senior space agency scientists believe the Earth will be hit with
unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the
Sun
wakes “from a deep slumber” sometime around 2013, The Daily Telegraph
can
disclose.

In a new warning, Nasa said the super storm would hit like “a bolt of
lightning” and could cause catastrophic consequences for the world’s
health,
emergency services and national security unless precautions are taken.

Scientists believe it could damage everything from emergency services’
systems, hospital equipment, banking systems and air traffic control
devices, through to “everyday” items such as home computers, iPods and
Sat
Navs.

Due to humans’ heavy reliance on electronic devices, which are sensitive
to
magnetic energy, the storm could leave a multi-billion pound damage
bill and
“potentially devastating” problems for governments.

“We know it is coming but we don’t know how bad it is going to be,”

Dr Richard Fisher, the director of Nasa's Heliophysics
division, said in
an interview with The Daily Telegraph.

“It will disrupt communication devices such as satellites and car
navigations,
air travel, the banking system, our computers, everything that is
electronic. It will cause major problems for the world.

“Large areas will be without electricity power and to repair that damage
will
be hard as that takes time.”

Dr Fisher added: “Systems will just not work. The flares change the
magnetic
field on the earth that is rapid and like a lightning bolt. That is
the
solar affect.”

A “space

weather” conference in Washington DC last week, attended
by
Nasa scientists, policy-makers, researchers and government officials,
was
told of similar warnings.

While scientists have previously told of the dangers of the storm, Dr
Fisher’s
comments are the most comprehensive warnings from Nasa to date.

Dr Fisher, 69, said the storm, which will cause the Sun to reach
temperatures
of more than 10,000 F (5500C), occurred only a few times over a
person’s
life.

Every 22 years the Sun’s magnetic energy cycle peaks while the number of
sun
spots – or flares – hits a maximum level every 11 years.

Dr

Fisher, a Nasa scientist for 20 years, said these two
events would
combine in 2013 to produce huge levels of radiation.

He said large swathes of the world could face being without power for
several
months, although he admitted that was unlikely.

A more likely scenario was that large areas, including northern Europe
and
Britain which have “fragile” power grids, would be without power and
access
to electronic devices for hours, possibly even days.

He said preparations were similar to those in a hurricane season, where
authorities knew a problem was imminent but did not know how serious
it
would be.

“I think the issue is now that modern society is so dependant on
electronics,
mobile phones and satellites, much more so than the last time this
occurred,” he said.

“There is a severe economic impact from this. We take it very seriously.
The
economic impact could be like a large, major hurricane or storm.”

The National Academy of Sciences warned two years ago that power grids,
GPS
navigation, air travel, financial services and emergency radio
communications could “all be knocked out by intense solar activity”.

It warned a powerful solar storm could cause “twenty times more economic

damage than Hurricane Katrina”. That storm devastated New Orleans in
2005
and left an estimated damage bill of more than $125bn (£85bn).

Dr Fisher said precautions could be taken including creating back up
systems
for hospitals and power grids and allow development on satellite “safe

modes”.

“If you know that a hazard is coming … and you have time enough to
prepare and
take precautions, then you can avoid trouble,” he added.

His division, a department of the Science Mission Directorate at Nasa
headquarters in Washington DC, which investigates the Sun’s influence
on the
earth, uses dozens of satellites to study the threat.

The government has said it was aware of the threat and “contingency
plans were
in place” to cope with the fall out from such a storm.

These included allowing for certain transformers at the edge of the
National
Grid to be temporarily switched off and to improve voltage levels
throughout
the network.

The National Risk Register, established in 2008 to identify different
dangers
to Britain, also has “comprehensive” plans on how to handle a complete

outage of electricity supplies.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7819201/Nasa-warns-solar-f...