Millions of people across Spain gathered on Wednesday to witness a rare total solar eclipse, with crowds flocking to cities, towns, and open viewing sites under clear skies.
The eclipse began early in the evening and was expected to briefly plunge parts of the planet into darkness as the sun, moon and Earth aligned, India Today reported.
Spain was among the best places in mainland Europe to see the eclipse, with views also possible from a sliver of Greenland and Iceland, weather permitting. Totality, when the moon fully blocks the sun’s light, was expected to last less than two-and-a-half minutes at its longest, off Iceland’s west coast. By the time it reached a small part of Portugal and then Spain just before sunset, it was expected to last around a minute, before ending over the Mediterranean.
Across Spain, people arrived with lawn chairs, umbrellas and hats as they waited for the spectacle. In Medinaceli, a Roman-era hilltop town in north-eastern Spain, sky watchers secured grassy viewing spots hours in advance and filled restaurants and bars. “It’s the first time in my lifetime that I’ll get to see a total eclipse in Spain,” said 24-year-old physics student scar Prez, who travelled from Germany to the town to witness the event. “I’m not sure where the next one is, so it’ll be great to see it.”
Spanish authorities mounted a large public safety campaign as the event came during scorching summer temperatures and ongoing wildfires. Officials said the eclipse could draw at least an additional half a million visitors, while demand for hotel rooms along the path of totality, including in A Corua, Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela, had surged. The Interior Ministry said 350 official viewing sites had been set up across the sparsely populated interior, often called “Empty Spain”, while access to another 123 sites had been limited or restricted because of environmental conditions or obstacles that could hamper an evacuation in the event of a wildfire.
Only weeks ago, the most destructive wildfire in Spanish history burned through 500 square kilometres and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in vila in central Spain. Several smaller wildfires remained active in other southern and central parts of the country. The ministry said more than 33,500 law enforcement officers would be deployed to observation areas and access points. “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. Temperatures rose above 35 degrees Celsius in many viewing areas on Wednesday, and authorities urged visitors not to light fires, litter or park in places with dry vegetation.