Tony North; First place, Breathing Spaces; Overall Winner; Blue Tajinaste, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. “Echium thyrsiflorum is endemic to the mountains of La Palma island – from high up, there was a magnificent view of both the caldera below, and the stars above. The Unesco La Palma biosphere reserve encompasses the entire island, with the Caldera de Taburiente containing mountains with a highest peak of 2,426 metres – the Roque de los Muchachos”. (Photo by Tony North/IGPOTY)

Thailand's Patsapong Amsam-ang waits under an umbrella during a break due to heavy rains in the men's pole vault final during the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Phnom Penh on May 8, 2023. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

A bicyclist with a bike painting on her face rides past the Museum of the Future, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, November 6, 2022. Thousands of people take part in annual Dubai Ride on the skyscraper-lined super highway that cuts through the center of the city. (Photo by Kamran Jebreili/AP Photo)

Water is seen on part of the glacial ice sheet that covers about 80 percent of the country is seen on July 17, 2013 on the Glacial Ice Sheet, Greenland. As the sea levels around the globe rise, researchers affilitated with the National Science Foundation and other organizations are studying the phenomena of the melting glaciers and its long-term ramifications. The warmer temperatures that have had an effect on the glaciers in Greenland also have altered the ways in which the local populace farm, fish, hunt and even travel across land. In recent years, sea level rise in places such as Miami Beach has led to increased street flooding and prompted leaders such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to propose a $19.5 billion plan to boost the citys capacity to withstand future extreme weather events by, among other things, devising mechanisms to withstand flooding. (Photo by Joe Raedle)

People wade through a road flooded by heavy rain in Kurume, Fukuoka prefecture, western Japan, Saturday, August 14, 2021. Torrential rain pounding southwestern Japan triggered a mudslide early Friday that swallowed some people and was threatening to cause flooding and more landslides in the region. (Photo by Kyodo News via AP Photo)

Cosplayer Barbie Chula poses for a photo on the last day of the New York Comic Con 2021 at the Jacob Javits Center on October 10, 2021. The four-day event is the largest pop culture event on the East Coast. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)

Nick Krist makes a funny face as he and his son, Noah, 8, take a selfie before a baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Minnesota Twins, Wednesday, July 22, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, who is pregnant, welcomes the spouses of heads of state at at Le Ciro's Resaturant on the second day of the G8 Summit on May 27, 2011 in Deauville, France. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)