On Wednesday, August 12, Europe will experience its first total solar eclipse since August 11, 1999. The path of totality will pass through the North Atlantic, Iceland, and northern Spain before ending in the Balearic Islands.
Temperature drop observed during a total eclipse in Mexico on April 8, 2024.
During a total solar eclipse, the Moon slides entirely between the Sun and Earth, hiding the solar disk and leaving only the corona visible. Totality can last from a few seconds to 7 minutes. On Wednesday, the maximum duration along the central line will be between 1 minute 39 seconds and 1 minute 54 seconds.
The sudden darkness triggers measurable environmental shifts. Patrick Pelletier, administrator and trainer at the Association française d'astronomie (AFA), recalled a 14-degree temperature drop between the start and maximum of a total eclipse in Mexico on April 8, 2024. Philippe Stée, president of the Observatoire de Paris-PSL, attributes such drops to meteorological and geometric factors like desert or valley settings. The Observatoire de Paris also reports that eclipses can cause 'turning winds' or shifts in wind direction during totality.
Animals often react to the false dusk. The Royal Observatory of Belgium, observing 13 sites during the 1999 eclipse, noted disturbances in bird songs and flights, and unusual behavior in dogs and roosters. Birds that sing during the day may fall silent, while nocturnal animals like owls may become active. Elephants have been observed heading toward their nighttime dens, and gorillas have charged the glass of their enclosures. At a 2017 eclipse, a study at Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina, US, recorded significant changes in nearly 75% of observed species, including chimpanzees hugging each other, Komodo dragons becoming hyperactive, and Galapagos tortoises looking skyward.
Humans become a little crazy during an eclipse, due to their intelligence and environmental sensitivity.
Researchers also note that human behavior may amplify animal reactions. Dr. Adam Hartstone-Rose stated that humans exhibit the most unusual behaviors during an eclipse, suggesting that animal restlessness may be driven by mass human behavior. Pierre Chastenay, who studied the 2024 eclipse at the Zoo de Granby in Quebec, Canada, found that for most animals, the eclipse was a 'non-event' when no visitors were present. However, specific species did react: zebras neighed and ran toward their night quarters, and Japanese macaques climbed high branches and huddled in a near-fetal position for five minutes, though this observation is disputed. The findings were published in 2026.
Chastenay also observed a flock of swallows returning to their nests under a bridge during a 2017 eclipse in the US, only to resume their activities once the eclipse ended. Astrophysicist Cyril Birnbaum described the light 10 to 15 minutes before the maximum eclipse as becoming 'très métallique' (very metallic), though this observation remains unverified.
