Total solar eclipse draws millions to Spain and Iceland
Why it matters: Spain deployed more than 25,000 police and restricted access to some sites as heat and wildfire risk rose.
Millions of people gathered across Spain and Iceland on Wednesday for Europe’s first total solar eclipse in 27 years, with the path of totality also crossing small parts of Greenland and Portugal. Spanish authorities expected up to 6 million visitors in rural areas and set up hundreds of official viewing points as scorching temperatures raised the danger of wildfires. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said 25,000 police officers were assigned, while Reuters reported nearly 100 planes and helicopters were on standby. In Iceland, where up to 80,000 visitors were expected, eclipse-viewing glasses sold out in Reykjavik ahead of totality on the island’s western coast.