London has been gripped by a last-minute scramble for solar eclipse glasses ahead of Wednesday evening’s deep partial eclipse, with shoppers reporting sold-out shelves, hour-long queues and one seller reselling glasses for £100 as demand outstripped supply across the capital.
On 12 August 2026, the UK will see a deep partial solar eclipse, with coverage reaching up to 91 per cent in London, 93 per cent in Cardiff, and as much as 95 to 96 per cent across Cornwall and the south-west, according to specialist retailer Widescreen Centre.
When Is The Eclipse Today: When Exactly Will The Eclipse Begin And Peak Today?
The eclipse begins around 6.17 pm BST, reaches its deepest point around 7.13 pm, and ends by roughly 8.06 pm, based on timings for London. The Sun remains above the horizon throughout the entire event in London, meaning certified eye protection is required from first contact right through to the eclipse’s conclusion, rather than only during part of the spectacle.
When Is The Eclipse Today: Why Have Eclipse Glasses Become So Hard To Find?
ISO-certified glasses in London have been in very short supply in recent days, with almost every retailer having sold out, according to Time Out London. One shopper, writing for London Now, described a chaotic hunt across multiple stores that ended with a queue “snaking its way round the corner and down the road,” where an opportunistic reseller was overheard “waving a pair of glasses” while shouting, “£100, I’ll sell them for £100.” The shopper added that only after searching “eclipse glasses” directly on Google Maps did they find a convenience store in Aldgate East that had renamed itself specifically to draw in customers ahead of the event.
When Is The Eclipse Today: What Makes Certified Glasses Necessary Rather Than Ordinary Sunglasses?
Certified eclipse glasses and solar filters must meet the ISO 12312-2:2015 standard, while ordinary sunglasses, smoked glass or photographic film are not safe substitutes, since they may dim visible light without blocking harmful ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Eclipse glasses use a special silver filter that blocks out 99.99 per cent of the Sun’s visible light while reducing ultraviolet and infrared radiation to a safe level, though buyers must ensure any pair they purchase is genuinely ISO 12312-2 certified, since many sold online are not.
The London Now shopper noted a sobering reminder of the risks involved, recalling that following the last total solar eclipse in 1999, 70 people in the UK were reported to have suffered visual loss after viewing the event without proper protection.
When Is The Eclipse Today: How Rare Is An Eclipse Of This Scale For The UK?
London is not on the path of totality for Wednesday’s eclipse, which instead passes over Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain, though the event still represents the most dramatic solar eclipse visible from the capital since 1999. Britain will not witness a full solar eclipse again until 23 September 2090, meaning for most people watching today, this is likely to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the sky darken so significantly during daylight hours.
With shelves cleared across much of London and queues continuing to form outside the few remaining stockists throughout the day, opticians and astronomy retailers have urged latecomers to consider a homemade pinhole projector as a safe alternative for those unable to secure certified glasses before the eclipse begins this evening.
