It’s time India got over the fake Diwali picture

• An image claiming to be of Diwali lights seen from space makes the rounds on social networks every year.
• The image is in fact many images to show how population has grown in India from 1992 to 2003.
• The only thing that's true is that it's an image of lights.

Every year a colourful picture of India makes the rounds on Diwali. The only thing is people claim that it’s a picture of India taken from space on Diwali night. In reality, it’s a picture created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ($4) to highlight the population growth in India — back in 2003.

And, it’s not just one photo. It’s a many images stitched together with overlaid data.


The one fact that’s accurate is that it’s a picture of lights. The white lights show where city were visible before 1992, blue lights for 1992, green lights for 1998 and red for 2003.

Another picture that's commonly circulated, claiming to be of India on Diwali night, is an actual satellite image of India's night from an ordinary day.


If you want to see a picture of India from space on Diwali night, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ($4) has one from 2012 taken by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on board the Suomi NPP satellite.