Will I see the 2027 solar eclipse in Riyadh?
Partly
76% of the Sun is covered at 13:32 local time. A partial eclipse: worth a look through eclipse glasses, but the day stays bright. Totality is 680 km to the south-west.
When to look
Local time in Riyadh (UTC+3).
- 12:13:28StartsThe Moon touches the Sun
- 13:32:22Most covered76% of the Sun
- 14:44:45EndsThe Sun is whole again
Will the Sun be clear at 13:32?
A clear view is very likely. Around 13:32 from 21 July to 14 August, the sky over Riyadh is on average 89% free of cloud: roughly the chance that the Sun is clear when the eclipse peaks. Riyadh airport, 27 km away, reported 89% in 646 weather reports (2006–2025).
2 August around 13:32, every year since 2006
- 062006: some cloud
- 072007: clear
- 082008: clear
- 092009: clear
- 102010: some cloud
- 112011: clear
- 122012: some cloud
- 132013: some cloud
- 142014: clear
- 152015: clear
- 162016: clear
- 172017: clear
- 182018: clear
- 192019: clear
- 202020: some cloud
- 212021: no report
- 222022: some cloud
- 232023: no report
- 242024: no report
- 252025: no report
Clear or nearly clear in 10 of 16 years on the day itself (Riyadh airport weather reports). One day is luck; the 89% above averages every day from 21 July to 14 August. How: NASA POWER hourly cloud data (2001–2025), corrected to match the weather reports of the 66 airports we checked (NOAA ISD, 2006–2025); NASA alone was up to 20 points too sunny along the Strait of Gibraltar. A real forecast exists about a week before: we'll add it here.
Staying in Taif
Rooms in the path go first: book now with free cancellation, then check the forecast a week before. Taif has 3 min 53 s of totality and a 81% clear record.
Keep your eyes safe
Look at the Sun only through eclipse glasses or a solar viewer made to ISO 12312-2. Sunglasses are not enough, even at 99%.
Once the last bead of sunlight disappears, take the glasses off and look. Put them back on the moment the Sun's edge reappears.
Never point binoculars, a telescope or a camera lens at the partial Sun without a solar filter on the front.
Riyadh eclipse: questions
It starts at 12:13 and ends at 14:44 local time (UTC+3). The most is covered at 13:32.
No. Riyadh sees a partial eclipse with 76% of the Sun covered. The nearest totality is about 680 km to the south-west; Taif (745 km) gets 3 min 53 s.
Nobody can know that until about a week before. From history: around 13:32 in late July and early August, the sky over Riyadh is on average 89% free of cloud, so roughly a 89% chance that the Sun is clear when the eclipse peaks. That comes from Riyadh airport's own weather reports (2006–2025), 27 km away.
The Sun will be 67° above the horizon in the west, so pick a spot with an open view that way: a beach, a rooftop terrace or a hill. At that height buildings rarely get in the way.
Yes, for everything except totality itself. Use glasses or viewers made to ISO 12312-2. In a partial eclipse you need them the whole time, even at 99%.