Scientists believe that the sun may produce extremely powerful bursts of radiation more frequently than previously thought. According to a study of similar stars, “superflares” occur as often as once a century. These events could be accompanied by massive particle storms that pose a threat to electronics on Earth.
Historically, there is evidence of solar storms dating back to the 19th century. One notable example occurred in 1859, when the sun produced an extremely powerful flare. This was followed by a coronal mass ejection (CME) that struck Earth and caused a devastating geomagnetic storm, known as the Carrington event.
If this event were to occur today, it could have catastrophic consequences for modern communication systems and power grids. With direct measurements of solar activity only recently available since the mid-20th century, scientists are uncertain how similar the sun is to other stars. However, with this new information, there is growing concern that another significant solar storm may be imminent.
Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2460512-the-sun-may-spit-out-giant-solar-flares-more-often-than-we-thought