Solar eclipse 2024 live updates: Latest news and what time to watch

The UK Met Office has helpfully provided a graphic showing the weather forecast for the path of totality in the US for today’s solar eclipse.

There is heavy rain across much of the southern US, with both Austin and Nashville potentially facing at least partial cloud cover. Luckily, most other spots look like they will get clear skies.

“For many along the optimal path with weather will allow a good view,” the Met Office says.

Unfortunately for those in the UK and Ireland, the weather forecast is not looking so favourable.

A reminder that it is not only in North America that the solar eclipse will be visible. Partial obscuration of the Sun will take place as far away as the UK and Ireland – thousands of kilometres away from the path of totality.

There will be a brief moment to witness it before sunset at around 8pm, with the partial solar eclipse crossing over the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the west of England.

The best place to see it in the British Isles will be the west coast of Ireland. More than a third of the Sun will be covered in Galway, while Cork and Limerick will see around 20 per cent obscuration.

In England, just a tiny slice of less than one per cent of the Sun will be covered by the Moon in Liverpool and Manchester.

You don’t need Nasa to tell you where in the US is going to get a total eclipse – you can just look at bookings on Airbnb.

Data gathered by AirDNA shows a massive spike in short-term rentals on platforms like Airbnb on 7 April and 9 April, as tourists hopeful of getting the best view of the solar eclipse flocking to the path of totality.

We’ll have an update of the latest weather forecast soon, but it looks like many of those making the bookings will be disappointed.

Roughly 44 million people live under the path of totality, with hundreds of millions more getting a chance to see a partial solar eclipse today.

We have a map showing the full path of the total solar eclipse, which crosses over some major metropolitan areas in its journey from the west coast of Mexico to the east coast of Canada.

Major cities beneath the path of totality include Durango, Austin, Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Toronto and Montreal.

You can read more about the eclipse’s path here.

Dr John Mason, who has led astronomical tours to view total solar eclipses for three decades, says:  “You can’t observe all the wonders of totality unless you’ve got 100 per cent.

When deciding where to lead his eclipse disciples, Dr Mason studies decades of weather records to maximise the chances of clear skies. But, he warns: “The statistics for the weather are only a guide.

“On the day, it could be totally different. You could find that there could be a cloudy day in Texas, and it could be clear up in the Northeast, in Maine. It’s only a guide.”

The location Dr Mason believes may attract the most viewers: Niagara Fall, on the US-Canada border.

“I could imagine huge numbers of people making their way to Niagara Falls because it’s got its cachet of an amazing view and and the total eclipse as well.”

For anyone who misses the 8 April 2024 total solar eclipse, the next will be on 12 August 2026, with northern Spain and the Balearic islands in the zone of totality.

Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent, arrived in Montreal late last night after buying the last economy class seat on the “Eclipse express”: British Airways flight 95, which arrived in the Canadian city at 9.05pm, local time.

Over breakfast at Eggspectation, a restaurant in downtown Montreal, he performs an exclusive interpretive prediction of the scenes later in the day – using only the Quebecois speciality, poutine.

Montreal is the only big city on the path of totality with near-certain clear skies. The Canadian government is predicting unbroken sunshine until at least 6pm, local time, with the eclipse passing over for 90 seconds at 3.27pm. The temperature is expected to reach 16C. The weather is unusual for early April. Montreal experiences extreme cold, and is only slowly emerging from winter.

Snow is piled high on some city streets, and weather records for the corresponding date in earlier years showing a high of –2C in 1977 and, the following year, three inches of snow.

The Royal Institution – the centuries old organisation that has fostered some of the greatest scientific minds in history – has a joke for you:

Experts warn that it is unsafe to look directly at the bright sun without using specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing. Viewing an eclipse through a camera lens, binoculars or telescope without making use of a special-purpose solar filter can cause severe eye injury, according to these experts.

They advise using safe solar viewing glasses or a safe handheld solar viewer, noting that regular sunglasses are not safe for viewing the sun. The only moment it is considered safe for people to remove eye protection during a total solar eclipse is the brief time when the moon completely blocks the sun’s surface.

People in various parts of the world will get to experience more eclipses in the coming months and years, according to NASA.

An annular solar eclipse will occur on Oct. 2 of this year, visible in South America, with a partial eclipse visible in South America, Antarctica, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and North America.

A partial solar eclipse will occur on March 29, 2025, visible in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean.

A partial solar eclipse will occur on Sept. 21, 2025, visible in Australia, Antarctica, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

An annular solar eclipse will occur on Feb. 17, 2026, visible in Antarctica, with a partial eclipse visible in Antarctica, Africa, South America, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

The next total solar eclipse will occur on Aug. 12, 2026, visible in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small portion of Portugal, with a partial eclipse visible in Europe, Africa, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.