A woman takes part in an initial military training for civilians at the sports and patriotic club “Yaropolk” in Krasnogorsk outside Moscow, Russia on December 3, 2022. (Photo by Yulia Morozova/Reuters)
Children wearing cardboard lion dance masks walk along a street in Beijing on January 13, 2023. China has announced its first overall population decline in recent years amid an aging society and plunging birthrate. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)
Cars submerge in water as heavy rain floods the Southern part of the country in Najaf, Iraq on January 04, 2023. (Photo by Karar Essa/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Elephants cool off at a zoo in Karachi, Pakistan, 31 March 2021. Caretakers at Karachi's zoo were working to keep animals cool during a heatwave affecting southern Pakistan. (Photo by Shahzaib Akber/EPA/EFE)
Honorable Mention: “The Storm”. During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment. Photo location: Kocaeli, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Aytül Akbaş/National Geographic Photo Contest)
A visitor takes in a view of the downtown district from Twin Peaks on Friday, January 9, 2015, in San Francisco. (Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo)
Handout photo dated March 20, 2015 issued by Chester Zoo of lemurs looking at the eclipse over Chester Zoo. (Photo by Steve Rawlins/PA Wire/Chester Zoo)