Solar eclipse to occur on March 29: Will it be visible in India?

Partial solar eclipse on March 29, 2025 visible in select areas of Northern Hemisphere, first eclipse of 2025 in India.

A partial solar eclipse will take place on Saturday (March 29, 2025), lasting around four hours, as the moon moves in front of the Sun. The spectacle will be visible in select areas of the Northern Hemisphere. This will be the first solar eclipse of 2025 in India.

The partial solar eclipse will be visible across a wide area, stretching from eastern Canada to northern Russia. This celestial event will also be seen in most of Europe and parts of northeastern North America and northwest Africa.

While the maximum amount of eclipse will be visible in northeastern Canada and Greenland, the partial solar eclipse will not be visible in India.

As per Indian Standard Time (IST), the solar eclipse will commence on March 29 at 2:20:43 p.m., peak at 4:17:27 p.m., and conclude at 4:13:45 p.m.

The relatively rare celestial event occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth all line up. A total solar eclipse is when the moon blots out the Sun.

Unlike a lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse should not be viewed with the naked eye as it could cause retinal damage. The only safe methods, according to NASA and the IMCEE, are using certified special eclipse glasses (“ISO 12312-2 international standard”), or watching indirectly through a pinhole in a cardboard sheet projecting the image of the eclipsed Sun onto a second cardboard sheet.