Hi Christian,

Solar activity can affect the Earth, especially Earth's magnetic field and upper atmosphere. I would not say it damages them, though. Those interactions have been going on a long time.

Extreme radiation associated with solar activity can damage human technology, for instance it can harm spacecraft (see http://www.usnews.com/new...-satellites-offline) for instance. Interactions of the magnetic fields of solar ejections (CMEs) with Earth's magnetic field which can ultimately, in some cases, damage equipment used in electrical power distribution. Here is a web page which describes these and other effects: http://www.windows2univer...ro/sw_affect_us.html

Terry