Pangolins in Crisis: Brent Stirton, South Africa; 1st place, Natural world and wildlife. “Pangolins are the world’s most illegally trafficked mammals, with an estimated one million trafficked to Asia in the last 10 years. Their scales are used in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine, and their meat is sold as a high-priced delicacy. As a result, pangolins are listed as critically endangered and anyone who trades or consumes them is breaking the law. This body of work exposes the trade, while exploring aspects of illegality and celebrating the people who are trying to save these animals”. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Sony World Photography Awards 2020)

A man and a woman jump over a bonfire during Ivan Kupala Day celebrations held by the Belarusian State Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Lifestyle in the village of Ozertso near Minsk, Belarus on July 4, 2020. Ivan Kupala Day, also known as Ivana-Kupala or Kupala Night, is a traditional pagan holiday celebrated in eastern Slavic cultures. Various rituals are traditionally performed on Kupala Night, including making flower wreaths, fortune-telling, jumping over bonfires, and burning a wheel-like effigy symbolizing the sun. (Photo by Natalia Fedosenko/TASS)

A woman wearing a face mask to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus crosses a stream in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 15, 2020. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)

People take pictures with cherry blossoms in a park on March 23, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Andrea Verdelli/Getty Images)

Staff take no chances at a dog-grooming salon in Rotterdam in the second decade of June 2023. (Photo by RUT/Splash News and Pictures)

Three young women sprint for cover after getting caught but they were laughing with joy. Fun for some – not so much for others. Leaping over and into puddles. Torrential rain and lightning and thunder in North London Highgate on August 17, 2022. Storm drenched people out and created huge puddles for traffic People ran to escape. (Photo by Gavin Rodgers/Pixel8000)

People wear traditional Chinese outfits as they walk in Chinatown in Bangkok on February 11, 2021, ahead of the start of the Lunar New Year, which ushers in the Year of the Ox on February 12. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Photo)

Folk artists perform intangible culture heritage items during a celebration at a park in Chengshan Town to welcome Chinese new year, on Janaury 18, 2022 in Rongcheng, Shandong Province of China. (Photo by Yang Zhili/VCG via Getty Images)