PHOTOS: How India welcomed 2020

Dazzling fireworks, dance parties and mid-night gatherings marked the onset of the New Year in the country.

Thousands of people held celebrations at various places throughout the night to welcome 2020.

On Wednesday morning people thronged temples and religious places and also went out to tourist spots in various cities on the first day of the year.

The New Year began on a chilly note for North India as several places, from the plains to the hills, recorded temperatures below 1 degree Celsius with Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar, which nearly touched the 50-degree mark last summer, shivering at 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday extended new year greetings to people, hoping aspirations of everyone are fulfilled in 2020.

'May everyone be healthy and may everyone's aspirations be fulfilled,' he wrote on Twitter.

Here's a glimpse of how the country held celebrations to welcome 2020.

IMAGE: People record fireworks on mobile phones at the Gateway of India on New Year's Day in Mumbai. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

IMAGE: Visitors gather at India Gate on the first day of the New Year 2020, in New Delhi. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

IMAGE: In Agra, people thronged the historic Taj Mahal to celebrate New Year's day. Photograph: PTI Photo

IMAGE: Massive crowd of visitors at Jabalpur's Bhedaghat Falls on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI Photo

IMAGE: People cheer as they release balloons during New Year celebrations outside a church in Ahmedabad. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

IMAGE: At Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi anti-CAA protesters held up their phones with flashlights to mark the arrival of 2020. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

IMAGE: People visit Tirupati Devasthanam on the occasion of New Year in Chennai on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI Photo

IMAGE: Heavy Traffic jam at Tilak Bridge due to New Year celebrations in New Delhi, on Wednesday. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

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