(Reuters) – Reuters sent out some 1.6 million pictures to the world in 2024, covering news and daily life, tragedies and comedies, chaos and customs, from 120 countries.
Choosing just a few dozen of them is a mammoth task.
Below is a selection that seeks to capture some of the essence of the year.
As roughly half the world’s population went out to vote in elections, there was reason for them to feel disheartened. Catastrophic floods from Brazil to Kenya, North Carolina to Nepal. Price rises and protests. Grinding wars in Ukraine and the Middle East that often threatened to escalate.
There was violence in Haiti, wildfires in Greece, and a disputed election in Venezuela (again).
People sought relief in quiet prayer, in contemplating art, in climbing mountains to get away from it all.
But they also came together – to cheer on victories for their sporting teams or election candidates, to watch the moon cover the sun, and to celebrate love and family.
Photographers from Reuters were there to record it all – and much more.
January
The year was born in ice and fire. While athletes and soldiers braved freezing temperatures to train in Europe, in Tokyo a plane burst into flames. In France, farmers were protesting, angry at the cost of living. It was, perhaps, an augury of what was to come.
February
February was the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two. A Reuters photographer captured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in silhouette in Tirana, while in St Petersburg the only face we see clearly is that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, reflected twice in a woman’s glasses as he broadcasts his annual address.
March
In difficult times, some derive comfort from faith and hope. In Mexico, young people took part in a Good Friday procession, carrying crosses, while in Senegal a child bore loaves of bread ahead of the breaking of the Ramadan fast. In Texas, a boy plays in the sand by the SpaceX launchpad. For SpaceX, hope lies in the stars.
April
There was scant hope for an end to the war in Gaza, where the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas continued through 2024 and the death and injury toll rose ever higher. In the United States, pro-Palestinian protests broke out at universities in April, a month that also saw crowds gather across North America to watch a rare total solar eclipse.
May
A breeze caught German influencer Leonie Hanne’s dress on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. It flowed out, white on a red background. Echoing that same curve, a 17th-century Diego Velazquez masterpiece on display in Liverpool, England – and then back in Cannes, a stylish take on the hijab worn by Norwegian-Somali model Rawdah Mohamed.
June
Wars are fought at the front but seep into other aspects of life. In Tel Aviv, a woman in sundress and sandals lined up at a bakery with a rifle slung over her shoulder. In Jerusalem, ultra-Orthodox men protested against a military draft. In Ukraine, servicemen took a break from the fighting to watch their country play soccer in the Euro 2024 championship. And in Gaza, a young girl was treated at a field hospital. She was clearly severely malnourished.
July
The U.S. presidential election campaign took a tumultuous turn after an assassination attempt on Republican candidate Donald Trump. An image of him raising his fist became a rallying cry for his supporters, some of whom also wore ear bandages in sympathy with his injury. Just over a week later, his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, exited the race, stage right.
August
In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was lit up as the world’s gaze was fixed on the French capital for the Olympic Games. In Suzdal, Russia, one photographer caught a vivid echo of that image as lightning cracked the sky above its Kremlin, while in Gaza it was echoed in a beam of sunlight in a pottery workshop. Further south, Congolese healthcare workers were battling an mpox outbreak, which the World Health Organization declared an emergency.
September
Brazil suffered its most intense drought since records began, a disaster brought into focus by drone shots over a tributary of the Amazon River. Elsewhere in Latin America, the actions of Argentina’s new president sparked protests, while the challenger in Venezuela’s election fled to Spain, decrying the official result as rigged.
October
It was a year of floods, on almost every continent. In Nepal, a girl used a cooking pot to clean out mud from her home, while in Florida a photographer captured mud – and a boat – still covering a tennis court. In Gaza, the surprising detail comes from a mannequin displaying a wedding dress in the street, which looks incongruous amid the destruction and displacement but symbolizes hope for a better future.
November
Climate change lurks always in the background, sometimes coming to the fore as fires rage or smog blurs out cities. A cluster of summits showed that global cooperation on policies to limit warming was still hard to come by, while it played little part in the contentious U.S. election. Anger over rising prices was a bigger factor in the defeat by Trump of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
(Writing by Rosalba O’Brien; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
