People in Kathmandu joke that the face mask has now become part of the national dress – an indispensable accessory in an effort to protect themselves from the dust. Nepal has the worst air quality in the world, according to the Environmental Performance Index. (Photo by Pete Pattisson/The Guardian)

US actress Glenn Close, US actress Sarah Paulson, US actress Teyana Taylor, US reality TV personality Kim Kardashian, US actress Niecy Nash-Betts and British actress Naomi Watts pose during a photocall for the premiere of “All's Fair” TV series in Paris on October 21, 2025. (Photo by Bertrand Guay/AFP Photo)

Anda Oliveira, 34, enjoys a waterfall in the Tijuca National Park, one of the world's biggest urban forests, marking the World Water Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on March 15, 2024. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

“Red Land: Sunset Cloud Village is one of the most picturesque places in Red Land, China. As its name indicates, it's best to see before sunset. The reddish brown soil turns redder after rainfall and after farmers plow the land”. (Photo and comment by Peng Jiang/National Geographic Photo Contest via The Atlantic)

A printed photograph taken on September 28, 2017 shows people bathing on the highway after Hurricane Maria destroyed people's homes, held up at the same spot of the highway where motorcyclists ride past in Naranjito, Puerto Rico, May 27, 2018. Thanks to the owners of the land alongside the highway, creek water was piped to the side of the road for people without water to use for bathing, washing clothes and dishes. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

“Stacked Supercell with Lightning”. This huge mesocyclone supercell was near the Nebraska / Kansas border on the night of June 22nd, 2012. What a stunning structure! (Photo and caption by Jennifer Brindley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

Food is placed on the tomb of pet dog Xixi at Baifu pet cemetery ahead of the Qingming Festival on the outskirts of Beijing, China March 26, 2016. The Chinese characters on the gravestone read: “Mommy's only good son”. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

People and Nature category winner: Why did the sloth cross the road? by Andrew Whitworth (Osa Conservation and University of Glasgow), taken in Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. “I was driving out from the Osa Peninsula, located on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica on a dark, stormy day. This female three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) had luckily just about made it across the road, and the drivers of the Toyota on this occasion had spotted her in good time”. (Photo by Andrew Whitworth/2019 British Ecological Society Photography Competition)