India and several other countries across four continents witnessed the first solar eclipse of 2020 on Sunday. The solar eclipse coincided with the summer solstice, when the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere tilts most towards the sun. The phenomenon was also visible from Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan and China.

Jammu, Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur were among the first places in India to witness the solar eclipse. The eclipse began at about 9:15 am in India and is likely to end after 3 pm.

“Ring of fire” or annular solar eclipses occur when the moon, which is passing between the earth and the sun, is not close enough to the earth to completely obstruct sunlight. This leaves a thin ring of solar disc visible.

The full “ring of fire” was visible to people in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Skywatchers took to social media to share photos of the eclipse. In Delhi, the eclipsed sun was visible through dark clouds.

During an eclipse, it is unsafe to look at the sun directly. Experts recommend the use binoculars or small telescopes to view the phenomenon.

Here are some images from India and other parts of the world:

The moon partially covers the sun during an annular solar eclipse as seen from Colombo on June 21, 2020. AFP/ Lakruwan Wanniarachchi / AFP
A partial solar eclipse is seen from the Cairo suburb of Maadi, Egypt, June 21, 2020. Amr Abdallah Dalsh/ Reuters.