Eclipse chasers scramble for glasses as stocks run low

Eclipse chasers in the UK are scrambling to find certified glasses for Wednesday's solar eclipse, the country's most significant in 27 years. Retailers, including a bakery in central London, have seen a rush of customers seeking the specialized eyewear, with one staff member reporting sales of "like, 100 this morning."

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I've sold, like, 100 this morning.

Online, pairs meeting safety specifications are largely unavailable or come with prohibitive next-day delivery fees. Even reputable retailers like the Royal Museums Greenwich, recommended by UK health officials, have sold out, citing "unprecedented volume" of orders. "People have been struggling to find them all over," one customer told BBC Radio 4's PM programme.

Experts from the UK Health Security Agency and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists are urging caution. They stress the importance of using glasses with the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard and warn that even brief exposure to the sun without protection can cause lasting damage. The retina lacks pain receptors, meaning damage can occur without immediate sensation, as evidenced by around 70 cases of vision problems reported after the 1999 total solar eclipse.

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I Googled 'where can I get eclipse glasses but not through the post', because I realised I was too late.

"Crucially, the retina has no pain receptors, so people will not feel the damage as it happens," explained Mohamed Elalfy, president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. The college noted that about 40% of those affected by vision problems after the 1999 eclipse had looked at it for less than a minute.

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People have been struggling to find them all over.

Imo Bell, a planetarium astronomer at The Royal Observatory Greenwich, described the specialist glasses as "very, very different" from regular sunglasses, which offer no protection. "They block out so much light that you can't see anything through them except the Sun," she told the PA news agency. Bell emphasized the rarity of such an event, stating, "We're not going to get one this good for a really long time. So, it's important not to miss it, and to be prepared."

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Crucially, the retina has no pain receptors, so people will not feel the damage as it happens.