From devastating wildfires to groundbreaking renewable energy projects, 2024 was a year when the climate crisis once again took center stage.
Photographs captured not just the destruction but also the resilience, innovation, and human stories behind the headlines.
Here are the most striking images that tell the story of our planet’s ongoing fight for survival and sustainability.
A worker inspects the permanent foundations being constructed on the coral reef for a judging tower to be used during the Olympic Games surf competition in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, Jan. 12, 2024. Associated Press
Workers carry cattle dung, used to make natural fertilizer, in Pedavuppudu village, India, Feb. 12, 2024. Associated Press
READ: 2024 ‘increasingly likely’ to be warmest on record – EU monitor
Do Hoang Trung, who lives on a houseboat with his twin sister and their grandmother, sleeps under a mosquito net in Can Tho, Vietnam, Jan. 17, 2024. Associated Press
Mark Ojibway wades in shallow water looking for walleye during the spring spearfishing season at the Chippewa Flowage on the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, near Hayward, Wis., April 14, 2024. Associated Press
Bigeye trevally fish swim against the current at Wolf Island, Ecuador in the Galapagos, June 10, 2024. Associated Press
Buildings cover Gardi Sugdub Island, Panama, May 25, 2024. Associated Press
Residents take refugee at Ombaka Primary School after fleeing floodwaters in Ombaka Village, Kisumu, Kenya, April 17, 2024. Associated Press
READ: Climate change, no longer a distant threat, is hurting kids now
Pilgrims use umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun as they gather outside Nimrah Mosque to offer noon prayers in Arafat, during the annual Hajj, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, June 15, 2024. Associated Press
A patient suffering from heatstroke receives treatment at a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, June 25, 2024. Associated Press
READ: Heat, air pollution, disease: How climate change affects health
Pools of water caused by heavy rainfall between sand dunes are visible in the desert town of Merzouga, Morocco, Oct. 2, 2024. Associated Press
Grant Douglas pauses while evacuating as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., July 26, 2024. Associated Press
A person walks along a road as the Franklin Fire approaches in Malibu, Calif., Dec. 10, 2024. Associated Press
People enjoy a hot water pool near Mount Bental in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Dec. 7, 2024. Associated Press
Members of a military emergency unit use a canoe to search the area for bodies washed away by floods in the outskirts of Valencia, Spain, Nov. 8, 2024. Associated Press