Space weather – Hazard to the Earth?
Many space phenomena directly affect our planet, not only in the form of life-giving thermal radiation, but also as life-threatening hazards. Our increasingly complex technological world is ever more sensitive to solar activity and its changes.
We are currently on the threshold of the next solar maximum, which scientists predict for mid-2000. Swiss Re’s aim is to promote awareness of the issue of space weather to a general readership, to identify those areas of life and economic activity which are affected and to draw the insurance industry’s attention to potential losses.
The information presented is the result of extensive investigations and discussions with many representatives from different sectors: airlines and aerospace operators, electrical energy and electronics companies, telecommunications companies and railway equipment manufacturers as well as research institutes. The publication focusses on the basic principles, the consequences and forecasts of space weather as well as the impact of space weather on the insurance industry.
