- Millions of people across northern and central Spain, Iceland, and Greenland are preparing to witness a rare total solar eclipse, with the celestial event bringing brief darkness lasting up to two and a half minutes around sunset.
- After devastating wildfires in the region, Spanish authorities implemented extensive public safety measures for the eclipse. The country has deployed over 33,500 law enforcement officers across 350 official viewing sites to manage an influx of 500,000 visitors and mitigate severe wildfire risks as temperatures are expected to soar above 95 Fahrenheit (35C).
- “High temperatures, the accumulated dryness of vegetation, and the intense pressure on natural areas due to projected travel necessitate extreme preventive measures,” Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said.
- Demand for specialised eclipse safety glasses spiked across Spain and hotel prices in Iceland surged to over $1,000 a night as 20,000 international tourists arrived for the country's first total solar eclipse since 1954, though cloudy weather threatens to obscure the view.
- Cloudy skies are forecast across most of the island when the eclipse peaks. The Icelandic Met office said that the best chances of breaks in the solid cover were expected in the northwest of the country.
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