Holiday Lights: Middle East

In December 2014, scientists using the NASA-NOAA Suomi-NPP satellite detected significant changes in the amount and distribution of nighttime lighting during holiday seasons in the Middle East and North America. Nighttime lights in some Middle East cities were 50 to 100 percent brighter during the holy month of Ramadan.

This map shows changes in lighting intensity and location on the Arabian Peninsula during Ramadan in 2012–2014 (parts of July and August in these years) to the average light output for the rest of 2012 to 2014. Green shading marks areas where light usage increased during the holy days; yellow marks areas with little change; and red marks areas where less light was used.