The celestial event accomplished another impressive feat on Monday, as the moon blocked the sun's view in parts of Mexico, the United States, and Canada. It took people offline.
According to Cloudflare, a cloud computing service used by about 20% of the world's websites, internet traffic has completely eroded as hooked viewers leave their phones and computers for a glimpse of reality. decreased to
Places with the most dramatic scenery saw the biggest decreases in traffic compared to the previous week. According to Cloudflare, Vermont, Arkansas, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Ohio (states that were in the middle of a totality event, meaning the moon completely blocked the sun) could see Internet traffic decreased by 40% to 60% around the eclipse. .
States with partial views also saw a decline in internet activity, but to a much lesser extent. As of 3:25 p.m. ET, Internet traffic in New York was down 29% compared to the previous week, according to Cloudflare.
The total path comprised a belt approximately 110 miles wide, stretching from Mazatlan, Mexico, to Montreal. In the Mexican state of Durango, which was in the eclipse zone, Internet traffic measured by Cloudflare was down 57% compared to the previous week, and further south, in Mexico City, traffic was down 22%. The duration of the total solar eclipse varied depending on location, with some locations lasting more than 4 minutes and others just 1-2 minutes.
The total solar eclipse ended off the east coast of Canada. As of 4:35 p.m. local time, traffic on Prince Edward Island had decreased by 48%.