Pictures from Tasmania’s central plateau, shot by wilderness photographer Dan Broun, show the extraordinary damage wrought by more than a week of bushfires following lightning strikes in Australia’s southernmost state on January 13. 2016. The world heritage area was home to a range of unique alpine flora including pencil pines, king billy pines and cushion plants, some more than 1,000 years old. Now more than 10,000ha of land has been incinerated, and ecologist say that, unlike eucalyptus trees, the ancient flora will not recover. (Photo by Dan Broun)

A lightning strikes St Peter's dome at the Vatican on February 11, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI announced today he will resign as leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics on February 28 because his age prevented him from carrying out his duties – an unprecedented move in the modern history of the Catholic Church. (Photo by Filippo Monteforte/AFP Photo)

People cross a flooded street during a rainstorm as Tropical Storm Hilary arrives Palm Springs, California on August 20, 2023. Southern California is under a tropical storm warning which could bring heavy rains, high winds and flooding. (Photo by Philip Cheung for The Washington Post)

These stunning images capture some of America's most intense storms from an extraordinarily close perspective. Here: A tornado storm is rolling over the town of Stratford, Texas on May 17, 2016. (Photo by Maximilian Conrad/Caters News)

Chinese tourists watch storm clouds moving along the coast towards the city of Sydney, Australia, November 6, 2015. Powerful storms swept across the city on Friday, with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issuing a warning for severe thunderstorms with large hailstones, heavy rainfall and damaging winds, local media reported. (Photo by David Gray/Reuters)

A man walks on the Cobb as storm waves break behind on December 13, 2011 in Lyme Regis, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Early morning storms over the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya on August 26, 2016. (Photo by Action Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A man takes a picture of sea spray as storms hit Cape Town, South Africa, June 7, 2017. (Photo by Mike Hutchings/Reuters)