UK shoppers scramble for eclipse glasses as supplies run out before Wednesday event

Britons are racing to locate certified solar-eclipse glasses ahead of Wednesday’s partial eclipse, but high-street shops and online retailers are reporting severe shortages.

Ahead of Wednesday’s partial solar eclipse, the United Kingdom faces a shortage of approved viewing glasses, with the Royal Observatory Greenwich reporting complete sell-outs across its physical and digital outlets. Major retailers, including Robert Dyas and Amazon, list eclipse glasses as unavailable or delayed until later in the week, and experts stress that regular sunglasses do not provide adequate protection. Shoppers such as Emma from Tonbridge recount being turned away by opticians and forced to share a single pair obtained from a friend.

Neill Sanders, founder of Go Stargazing and UK coordinator for Astronomers Without Borders, attributes the scarcity to late purchasing, despite having imported 300,000 pairs and distributed 100,000 to clubs at reduced prices. Another distributor acknowledges limited packing capacity as a bottleneck. The Royal Observatory’s Jake Foster advises the public to use pinhole projection techniques as a safe alternative, while health authorities reiterate guidance on certified glasses to avoid eye damage.