KARACHI: The Met Office has announced that there will be an annular eclipse of the sun on Dec 26 (Thursday) and it will be visible in Pakistan.

It said that this was a rare and historical event happening after 20 years.

This eclipse is said to be completely different from that of August 1999 due to the “albedo effect” when most of radiation did not reach the ground and got deflected back into space because of mostly cloudy skies.

However, this time around skies will be crystal clear hence there will be a direct impact of radiation.

People have been advised not to look at the sun with the naked eye during the eclipse on Dec 26 because it may cause permanent eye damage or even blindness.

The solar eclipse will be visible in eastern Europe, much of Asia, northern and western Australia, eastern Africa, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, according to the Met Office.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2019