[MargaretR]

I have just watched the 1st episode on BBCi player - quite impressed too
The episode begins with the threat of a coronal mass ejection CME.
You can monitor sun activity here-
SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
Today's Space Weather

A CME has the potential to wipe out electricity generation, not just for a few hours, possibly for months.
Could you cope without electricity for months?
Space storm alert: 90 seconds from catastrophe - space - 23 March 2009 - New Scientist
A Scary 13th: 20 Years Ago, Earth Was Blasted with a Massive Plume of Solar Plasma [Slide Show]: Scientific American