Will I see the 2027 solar eclipse in Sharm el-Sheikh?
So close
Sharm el-Sheikh is just outside the path: 96% of the Sun is covered at 13:05, but the sky never goes dark. Totality starts 155 km to the south-west.
When to look
Local time in Sharm el-Sheikh (EEST).
- 11:41:32StartsThe Moon touches the Sun
- 13:05:03Most covered96% of the Sun
- 14:24:49EndsThe Sun is whole again
Will the Sun be clear at 13:05?
A clear view is very likely. Around 13:05 from 21 July to 14 August, the sky over Sharm el-Sheikh is on average 98% free of cloud: roughly the chance that the Sun is clear when the eclipse peaks.
2 August around 13:05, every year since 2006
- 062006: clear
- 072007: clear
- 082008: clear
- 092009: clear
- 102010: clear
- 112011: clear
- 122012: clear
- 132013: clear
- 142014: clear
- 152015: clear
- 162016: clear
- 172017: clear
- 182018: clear
- 192019: clear
- 202020: no report
- 212021: no report
- 222022: no report
- 232023: no report
- 242024: no report
- 252025: no report
Clear or nearly clear in 14 of 14 years on the day itself (Hurghada airport weather reports). One day is luck; the 98% 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.
Where to go for totality
The best bets within 400 km of Sharm el-Sheikh: totality length and how often the sky was clear.
Staying in El Quseir
Rooms in the path go first: book now with free cancellation, then check the forecast a week before. El Quseir has 2 min 28 s of totality and a 93% 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.
Sharm el-Sheikh eclipse: questions
It starts at 11:41 and ends at 14:24 local time (EEST). The most is covered at 13:05.
No. Sharm el-Sheikh sees a partial eclipse with 96% of the Sun covered. The nearest totality is about 155 km to the south-west; El Quseir (200 km) gets 2 min 28 s.
Nobody can know that until about a week before. From history: around 13:05 in late July and early August, the sky over Sharm el-Sheikh is on average 98% free of cloud, so roughly a 98% chance that the Sun is clear when the eclipse peaks. That is NASA satellite-based cloud data corrected with nearby airports' weather reports.
The Sun will be 79° above the horizon in the south, 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%.