A man walks near a boat which has capsized due to strong winds in Istanbul on November 30, 2021. Strong winds continue to blow across Istanbul where the Bosphorus strait is temporarily closed to boat traffic. Four people were killed and dozens injured on Monday in Istanbul, which was hit by high winds. (Photo by Yasin Akgul/AFP Photo)

Philadelphia Phillies Ben Francisco reacts after being hit in the head with a pitch by Cincinnati Reds Logan Ondrusek during the MLB National League Division Series baseball playoffs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States in this October 8, 2010 file photo. (Photo by Tim Shaffer/Reuters)

A Sphynx cat stares sitting on its owner's lap during an international feline beauty competition in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 14, 2018. More than 250 cats take part in the two-day competition in the Romanian capital. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

People walk through wind and rain during a nor'easter storm in Times Square in New York City on April 3, 2024. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

A water buffalo is pictured across from the Nahr Bin Omar oilfield in Iraq's southern province of Basra on July 18, 2022. (Photo by Hussein Faleh/AFP Photo)

A supporter of Iraqi populist leader Moqtada al-Sadr gashes his head with blade during a ceremony marking Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, at Tahrir Square in Baghdad,,Iraq on August 9, 2022. (Photo by Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters)

Shiite Muslim devotees reach to receive a blessing from the tomb of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, at the Imam's shrine in Iraq's central holy city of Karbala on September 6, 2023, during the Arbaeen religious festival commemorating his seventh century killing. (Photo by Hussein Faleh/AFP Photo)

Aurorae category runner-up: Lone Tree under a Scandinavian Aurora by Tom Archer (UK). The photographer decided to explore the area around the hotel on a very crisp -35C evening in Finnish Lapland. When he found this tree, he decided to wait for the misty conditions to change and could not believe his luck when the sky cleared and the aurora came out in the perfect spot. Archer spent about an hour photographing it before his camera started to lock up because of the harsh conditions, but by then he was happy to call it a night. (Photo by Tom Archer/2020 Astronomy Photographer of the Year)