A police officer stands guard out of a venue where farmer leaders meet with government representatives in New Delhi, India, December 5, 2020. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)
A Naga Sadhu or Hindu holy man adjusts the beads around his neck ahead of the first Shahi Snan at “Kumbh Mela” or the Pitcher Festival, in Haridwar, India, March 10, 2021. (Photo by Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)
Locals light firecrackers on the occasion of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in Chennai, India on November 12, 2023. (Photo by Idrees Mohammed/EPA/EFE)
Livestock vendors displays their bulls to customers at a cattle market in Hyderabad, in Pakistan's Sindh province on May 20, 2025, ahead of the upcoming Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. (Photo by Husnain Ali/AFP Photo)
Buildings in Lujiazui financial district are seen shrouded in fog amid an orange alert for heavy fog in Shanghai, China on January 31, 2024. (Photo by Xihao Jiang/Reuters)
A woman holds her umbrella while walking against strong winds as Typhoon Chan-hom approaches Taiwan, in Taipei, July 10, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)
Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)