PMD says partial solar eclipse to begin and end at 8:46am and 2:34pm, while it would be greatest at 11:40am
KARACHI: A solar eclipse is set to occur on June 21, 2020, and would be visible in some cities across the country, the Pakistan Meteorological Department's (PMD) Climate Data Processing Centre has said in a statement.
According to the centre, "an annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon covers the Sun's center, leaving the Sun's visible outer edges to form a 'ring of fire' or annulus around the Moon."
"The partial eclipse begins at 08:46 PST [8:46am] and partial eclipse ends at 14:34 PST [2:34pm] with greatest eclipse will occur at 11:40 PST [11:40am]," it added.
Information provided in the statement indicated that people living in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Sukkur, and Gwadar could witness the eclipse at various partial levels, with only those in Sukkur to see the annular eclipse in almost its entirety — at the Sun's coverage of 98.78%.
Gilgit would have the least Sun's coverage in the eclipse, at 74.88%, the Climate Data Processing Centre added.
The PMD noted that apart from Pakistan, the solar eclipse would also be visible in parts of Africa — including the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Ethiopia — as well as India and China.