Massive solar flare to bring chaos, inflict $2 trillion in damage – bank's 'outrageous' prediction

Danish Saxo Bank, famous for making ‘outrageous’ predictions published each December, and not meant to be taken seriously, has once again astonished humanity with its annual forecast.

According to the Copenhagen-based financial institution, the upcoming year is set to be marked with X-Class solar flare that will evoke absolute chaos across the globe.

“In 2019, as Solar Cycle 25 kicks into gear, the earth isn’t so lucky and a solar storm strikes the Western hemisphere, taking down most satellites on the wrong side of the earth at the time and unleashing untold chaos on GPS-reliant air and surface travel/ logistics and electric power infrastructure,” Saxo's 2019 Outrageous Predictions reads.

The bank’s analysts add that the Earth “got lucky” in the summer of 2012, when the planet missed a giant, multi-X-class flare by a matter of a week as its associated Coronal Mass Ejections washed across the earth’s orbital path a week after the earth had transited.

The tongue in cheek report highlights that the flare will come with a high price tag. It is set to cause financial damage of at least $2 trillion. The figure is reportedly 20 percent less than the worst-case scenario estimated by a Lloyds-sponsored study on the potential financial risks from solar storms back in 2013.

Although the bank's predictions are meant to be taken lightheartedly, Saxo Bank occasionally gets it right. Last year the Danish bank correctly predicted the collapse of Bitcoin.

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