<p>The games' organisers have admitted to monitoring the situation carefully after the met office warned that the next solar storm may occur during the Games, the Daily Mail reported.<br /><br />The met office said it could cause a national grid failure up to 12 hours and damage 30 percent of satellites, disrupting communications, earth observation facilities and position navigation and timing services including GPS. <br /><br />A weather expert said: "Extreme space weather events typically occur at the solar maximum, which itself follows a roughly 11-year cycle. "The next solar maximum is expected around 2012-13 - potentially coinciding with the London Olympic Games."<br /><br />The most powerful solar storm to hit earth was the 1859 Carrington event, which was blamed for telegraph systems failing in North America and Europe.</p>
<p>The games' organisers have admitted to monitoring the situation carefully after the met office warned that the next solar storm may occur during the Games, the Daily Mail reported.<br /><br />The met office said it could cause a national grid failure up to 12 hours and damage 30 percent of satellites, disrupting communications, earth observation facilities and position navigation and timing services including GPS. <br /><br />A weather expert said: "Extreme space weather events typically occur at the solar maximum, which itself follows a roughly 11-year cycle. "The next solar maximum is expected around 2012-13 - potentially coinciding with the London Olympic Games."<br /><br />The most powerful solar storm to hit earth was the 1859 Carrington event, which was blamed for telegraph systems failing in North America and Europe.</p>