A nearly total solar eclipse will sweep across the UK on Wednesday, offering the deepest coverage since 1999 and the last such event until 2081. Up to 96% of the sun will be obscured in western areas, with the spectacle visible between roughly 6pm and 8pm and peaking near 7:10pm.
Totality, lasting just over two minutes, will be visible only from northern Spain, Iceland, Greenland, or the Atlantic. Within the UK, Devon and Cornwall are forecast to see the highest coverage, while eastern coasts will see about 88-90%.
The UK Health Security Agency advises using ISO-certified eclipse viewers, as the Royal Greenwich Observatory warned that regular sunglasses are unsafe. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists reported about 70 vision injuries after the 1999 eclipse. Clearer skies are expected in southern and eastern Britain, with the Perseid meteor shower peaking in the early hours after the event.