Indians Celebrate Festival of Light amid COVID-19 Fears

People light lamps on the banks of the river Saryu in Ayodhya, India, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
People light lamps on the banks of the river Saryu in Ayodhya, India, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
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Indians Celebrate Festival of Light amid COVID-19 Fears

People light lamps on the banks of the river Saryu in Ayodhya, India, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
People light lamps on the banks of the river Saryu in Ayodhya, India, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Indians across the country began celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on Thursday amid concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and rising air pollution.

Diwali is typically celebrated by socializing and exchanging gifts with family and friends. Many light oil lamps or candles to symbolize a victory of light over darkness, and fireworks are set off as part of the celebrations.

Last year, celebrations in India were upended by a renewed spike in COVID-19 infections, but festivities this year seem to be back. Even though the government has asked people to avoid large gatherings, markets have been buzzing ahead of Diwali, with eager crowds buying flowers, lanterns and candles.

As dusk fell on Wednesday, over 900,000 earthen lamps were lit and kept burning for 45 minutes in the northern city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh state, retaining the Guinness World Record it set last year. As part of the Diwali celebrations, the city last year lit 606,569 oil lamps, The Associated Press reported.

The lamps were lit at Ram ki Pauri, at the banks of Saryu River, a stunning spectacle for thousands of visitors who thronged its shores while ignoring coronavirus social distancing norms. A laser and fireworks show followed, illuminating the city's lanes and river banks. Thousands of city residents also lit lamps at their houses and temples.

The festival is being celebrated at a time when India's pandemic crisis has largely subsided.

On Thursday, the country recorded over 12,000 new coronavirus cases and 461 deaths, a far cry from earlier this year when India buckled under a few hundred thousand new infections every day. Overall, it has recorded more than 35 million infections and over 459,000 deaths, according to the Health Ministry. These figures, as elsewhere, are likely undercounts.

Even states where infections were swelling a few weeks ago, such as Kerala along the tropical Malabar Coast, have seen a sustained decline. India also celebrated administering its billionth COVID-19 vaccine dose last month, further boosting confidence that life is returning to normal.

Still, experts have warned that the festival season could bring a renewed spike in infections if COVID-19 health measures aren´t enforced.

There are also worries over air pollution, which typically shrouds northern India under a toxic grey smog at this time as temperatures dip and winter settles in.

On Diwali night, people also lit up the sky with firecrackers - their smoke causing pollution that takes days to clear.

While there is no nationwide ban on bursting firecrackers, a number of states have imposed restrictions to stem the pollution, with some allowing their residents to light green crackers for a certain number of hours. Green crackers produce lesser emissions than normal firecrackers. In the past, similar bans have often been flouted.



European Satellite Launcher Set for First Commercial Blast Off

This handout satellite image made available on February 11, 2025 by the European Space Agency and captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on April 02, 2024, shows the Amsterdam Island, that is part of France's French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 / AFP)
This handout satellite image made available on February 11, 2025 by the European Space Agency and captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on April 02, 2024, shows the Amsterdam Island, that is part of France's French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 / AFP)
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European Satellite Launcher Set for First Commercial Blast Off

This handout satellite image made available on February 11, 2025 by the European Space Agency and captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on April 02, 2024, shows the Amsterdam Island, that is part of France's French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 / AFP)
This handout satellite image made available on February 11, 2025 by the European Space Agency and captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on April 02, 2024, shows the Amsterdam Island, that is part of France's French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean. (Photo by Handout / COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2 / AFP)

After several postponements, Europe's Ariane 6 launcher will carry out its first commercial mission on Monday when it puts a French military intelligence satellite into space.

The launch from the Kourou base in French Guiana is key to Europe's efforts to build up its security autonomy amid the shocks caused by the US-Russia diplomatic rapprochement.

"The whole world is watching us," Arianespace chief executive David Cavailloles told AFP this month.

Ariane 5 was retired in 2023 and Europe has not been able to use Russia's Soyuz rocket for satellite launches since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Ariane 6 underwent a successful test in July last year and is scheduled to carry out five launches this year.

First scheduled in December, the launch was put back until February 26 and then March 3 because of problems getting the satellite to the Kourou base, according to Arianespace.

"All launches have risks. Problems can happen with the launcher, with the satellite. We make sure that everything is ready and if it needs a few extra weeks, a few extra months, it is not a problem," said Lionel Suchet, head of France's National Center for Space Studies (CNES).

Given the military role of the satellite being put into space, strict security precautions are being taken to limit access at the base while three Rafale fighter jets will patrol the surrounding skies.

"The satellite has to be protected. It has special instruments that must not be seen by just anybody," said Catherine Leveau, CNES director of space transport.

The CSO-3 satellite will complete a network of three French military satellites, with the first two launched in 2018 and 2020 by Soyuz.

The satellites "strengthen" France's military autonomy, according to CNES defence consultant Philippe Steininger.

Some of the images taken by CSO-3 will be shared with the German and Belgian militaries that have invested in the satellites.

Sweden also has access to some images in exchange for letting France use its space research center near the Arctic town of Kiruna.