Met office to forecast space weather
The Met Office is to offer daily space weather forecasts.
From the middle of 2014, the government and businesses will receive the predictions, giving them the chance to respond to the arrival of solar "super storms".
According to The Times (paywall), Britain is committing £4.6 million over the next three years to study the risk of severe solar storms.
It will be the second space weather prediction service in the world and will work closely with the one operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Mark Gibbs, head of space weather at the Met Office, told the BBC: "Space weather is a relatively immature science but understanding is growing rapidly.
"This investment will enable the Met Office to complete the space weather forecasting capability that it has been developing over the past two years and begin delivering forecasts, warnings and alerts to key sectors to minimise the impact to the technology-based services we all rely on."
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