World’s Largest Human Gathering as Seen from Space  

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission of European Space Agency (ESA) has captured images of Maha Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest human gathering held in the city of Prayagraj in India. According to an estimate, over 600 million people participated in the 44-day festival that commenced on the day of the full Moon on 13 January 2025 and concluded on 26 February 2025 on the day of Maha Shivaratri. 

The comparison of images of the area at the confluence of the Yamuna river with the Ganges near Prayagraj, taken a month before the beginning of the festival on 13 December 2024 and on 27 January 2025 during the festival, shows the extent of the temporary structures developed for the event.

Over 40 square km area along the banks of the Ganges was converted into a temporary city with housing, electricity, drinking water and parking facilities. The tent city comprised around 150 000 toilets and 11 hospitals.  

0n 27 January 2025, Don Pettit, the NASA astronaut aboard Internatinal Space Station (ISS) shared images of ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 as seen from the space.  

2025 Maha Kumbh Mela Ganges River pilgrimage from the ISS at night. The largest human gathering in the world is well lit. pic.twitter.com/l9YD6o0Llo

— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) January 26, 2025

Kumbh Mela festivals attract millions of pilgrims belonging to Indian religions. The sacred cities of Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik take turn every four years by rotation to host the festival, where pilgrims gather for a ritual bath. This years’ festival at Prayagraj was a Maha (Great) Kumbh Mela, which occurs only every 144 years.  

The next Kumbh Mela will be held in Nashik from 17 July 2027 to 17 August 2027 along the sacred banks of the Godavari River. 

Kumbh Mela was inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017. 

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References:  

1. ESA. Earth from Space: Maha Kumbh Mela festival, India. Posted 28 February 2025. Available at https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/02/Earth_from_Space_Maha_Kumbh_Mela_festival_India 

2. NASA. The Next Full Moon is the Wolf Moon. Posted 6 January 2025. Available at https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/the-next-full-moon-is-the-wolf-moon/ 

3. UNESCO. Kumbh Mela – Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Available at https://web.archive.org/web/20210507134101/https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/kumbh-mela-01258  

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