MADRID, Aug 12: Spain is gearing up for a rare total solar eclipse on Wednesday, with millions expected to gather across northern and central parts of the country as authorities step up safety measures amid scorching temperatures and an ongoing wildfire threat.
The eclipse is expected to attract at least 500,000 additional visitors, according to Spanish authorities. The celestial event will occur around sunset as the Sun, Moon and Earth align, briefly plunging parts of the Iberian Peninsula, along with small areas of Greenland and Iceland, into darkness.
Totality, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun, will last less than two and a half minutes in Spain.
Spain’s Interior Ministry has designated 350 official viewing locations across the country’s sparsely populated interior, popularly known as “Empty Spain”. Access to another 123 locations has been restricted or prohibited because of environmental concerns or difficulties that could hamper evacuations in case of wildfires.
More than 33,500 law enforcement personnel are being deployed at viewing areas and major access points to manage the expected crowds and ensure public safety.
Authorities have urged visitors to avoid activities that could trigger fires, including lighting flames, discarding cigarette butts or parking vehicles on dry vegetation.
The precautions come after one of Spain’s worst wildfire seasons, with a major blaze recently destroying around 500 square kilometres and forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate. Several smaller fires are also still active in different parts of the country.
Temperatures were forecast to rise above 35 degrees Celsius across large parts of Spain, including several areas along the eclipse’s path. The country’s weather agency, AEMET, warned that high temperatures, dry vegetation and increased pressure on rural areas posed significant fire risks.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said authorities were taking “extreme preventive measures” to prevent even a single spark from triggering another wildfire.
The approaching eclipse has also triggered a rush for specialised viewing glasses across Spain.
Experts have stressed that certified eclipse glasses are essential to protect eyesight, even when only a small portion of the Sun remains visible.
Telmo Fernandez Castro, director of the Madrid Planetarium, advised people to use proper solar filters while viewing the event. Supermarkets, museums, department stores and planetariums have been selling or distributing eclipse glasses for months, while several pharmacies have reported shortages.
In Madrid, people queued outside shops on Tuesday evening in search of the protective glasses, with some retailers displaying signs announcing their availability.
The eclipse will reach its longest duration off Iceland’s western coast. By the time the shadow crosses Portugal and Spain, totality will have shortened to around a minute in some locations before the event moves over the Mediterranean.
Iceland is expecting a major influx of visitors for the eclipse, with authorities anticipating up to 20,000 additional international tourists.
Hotel prices in Reykjavik have surged, with average rates for Wednesday night exceeding USD 1,000, according to Lighthouse Intelligence. Prices were roughly twice as high as the previous year’s rates.
The event will mark Iceland’s first total solar eclipse since 1954 and the first visible from Reykjavik since June 1433.
Hotels along the eclipse’s path in Spain have also experienced a sharp rise in demand, particularly in cities such as A Coruna, Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela.
In Iceland’s Reykjanesbaer municipality, the 70-room Hotel Keflavik was fully booked by visitors hoping to witness around one minute and 45 seconds of totality, weather permitting.
Hotel owner Steinþor Jonsson said the demand reminded him of the excitement surrounding the 1986 Reykjavik summit between US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
“Besides Reagan and Gorbachev, the eclipse is the biggest,” he said.
