Polar frame, by Dmitry Kokh, Russia. When Kokh’s boat approached the small island of Kolyuchin in the Russian High Arctic, which had been abandoned by humans since 1992, he was surprised to spot movement in one of the houses. Binoculars revealed polar bears – more than 20 in total – exploring the ghost town. Dmitry used a low-noise drone to document them. (Photo by Dmitry Kokh/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022)

Natural world and wildlife shortlist. Lop Buri in Thailand is home to hundreds of macaques, which local residents consider to be disciples of the Hindu god Hanuman. While some people love them, others fear or even hate them. Despite the inconvenience they often cause, the macaques are generally respected and considered sacred. (Photo by Joan de la Malla/Sony World Photography Awards)

A man reacts as he receives 100 whippings by religious police as punishment for pre-marital sеx, outside a mosque in Jantho, Aceh province on June 5, 2020. A couple in Indonesia's conservative Aceh was publicly flogged 100 times each on June 5 after they were caught having pre-marital sеx, as one pleaded for an end to the painful punishment. Aceh is the only region in Muslim-majority Indonesia to impose Islamic law, which allows whipping for a range of charges. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)

Visitors enjoy food at a table bounded by a banner with a character fast food restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken, in Jakarta, Indonesia, on June 23, 2020. The display banner is useful for limiting physical distance for visitors who eat on the spot. The Indonesian government has imposed a new set of regulations known as “new normal”, which will be implemented in stages starting in early June for some provinces. (Photo by Jefta Images/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

A health worker applies a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine during the first day of a three-day COVID-19 vaccination campaign for people over age 35 in the Complexo da Maré favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brazil, Thursday, July 29, 2021. Some recipients will be monitored to study the rate of protection the vaccines provide and the extent to which virus variants are circulating. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

A couple pours water on their dogs during a hot day, in Rome, Thursday, August 12, 2021. In Italy, 15 cities received warnings from the health ministry about high temperatures and humidity with peaks predicted for Friday. The cities included Rome, Florence and Palermo, but also Bolzano, which is usually a refreshing hot-weather escape in the Alps. (Photo by Andrew Medichini/AP Photo)

Julia Gracheva and Anna Speak takes photos as they attend the 10th edition of “Diner en Blanc” at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan September 19, 2022. The legendary all-white secret pop-up, the location of which is revealed hours before the event, draws over 5,500 guests who dress in head-to-toe white attire for an under the stars dining experience. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)

Visitors view Patricia Piccinini's “The Embrace” artwork during the “You Know Who” exhibition at the Abdulmecit Efendi mansion in Istanbul, Turkey, 27 September 2022. The exhibition, which by the organizers is described as questioning “the representation of the unknown in contemporary art, based on the symbolic world of the supernatural and unknown in the Byzantine period”, is shown from 20 September until 11 December 2022. (Photo by Erdem Sahin/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)