Photo gallery: Striking images from the 2019 Environmental Photographer of the Year competition – “Climate change is the defining issue of our time and now is the time to act”

A montage of photos that were submitted to the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award. “Journey by Launch” by Azim Khan Ronnie; “Polluted New Year” by Eliud Gil Samaniego, “Remains of the Forest” by J Henry Fair, “Tuvalu Beneath the Rising Tide” by Sean Gallagher, “My Climate Future” by Souray Karmakar, “Looking Beyond What is There” by Graham Earnshaw, “Where the City Ends and the Ships Begin” by Azim Khan Ronnie, and “Tuvalu Beneath the Rising Tide” by Sean Gallagher (second entry). Photo: CIWEM

23 September 2019 (CIWEM) – The CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year exposes the terrible impacts being wrought on our planet by humans, but also celebrates humanity’s innate ability to survive and innovate, lending hope to us all that we can overcome challenges to live sustainably. [See all of the submissions: Environmental Photographer of the Year Gallery –Des]

The competition supports the urgent calls to action of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and recognises the intricate interconnected nature of development, poverty reduction, climate action and the unprecedented effort from all sectors of society needed to tackle the defining issues of our time.

This image, “Sleep Fatigue”, won photographer Amdad Hossain an honorable mention in the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award. It shows A woman sleeping on garbage along a dirty riverbank in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo: Amdad Hossain

This competition is run by CIWEM and is proudly supported by the UN Environment, Arup and Olympus UK.

Terry Fuller, CIWEM chief executive said, “Climate change is the defining issue of our time and now is the time to act. We need to see action from all sectors of society. This competition showcases the reality of how people are being impacted by the climate all around the world and aims to spread an important message worldwide to inspire big change.”

This image, “Sweet Dreams”, won photographer Antonio Aragon Renuncio an honorable mention in the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award. It shows a girl sleeping on a desk inside her schoolroom at a school near the Burkina Faso border. Extreme rains have tripled in the Sahel in the last 35 years due to global warming. Climate change has caused 70 episodes of torrential rains in the last decade although the region also suffers episodes of severe drought. Photo: Antonio Aragon Renuncio

The winners have been announced alongside the UN Climate Action Summit taking place in New York today. The summit aims to showcase a leap in collective national political ambition and demonstrate big movements in the real economy.

These winning photographs reveal the raw reality of how people and wildlife are struggling with the impacts of climate change all around the world. This award exists to inspire change from political leaders, decision makers, and the general public.

This image, “High Tide Enters Home”, won photographer SL Shanth Kumar the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award from the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM). It shows a huge wave lashing at a shanty town in Bandra, Mumbai, throwing a 40-year old fisherman out of his home. He was pulled in by the strong currents, and was rescued by fellow fishermen. The reclaimed city of Mumbai is facing an increased risk of coastal flooding as a result of climate change. Photo: SL Shanth Kumar — This image, “High Tide Enters Home”, won photographer SL Shanth Kumar the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award from the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM). Photo: SL Shanth Kumar

“High Tide Enters Home” by SL Shanth Kumar

This image, “High Tide Enters Home”, won photographer SL Shanth Kumar the overall Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award from the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM).

A victim of climate change: A huge wave lashed at a shanty town in Bandra, Mumbai, throwing a 40-year old fisherman out of his home. He was pulled in by the strong currents, and was rescued by fellow fishermen. The reclaimed city of Mumbai is facing an increased risk of coastal flooding as a result of climate change. The city’s land and sea temperatures have been rising causing a corresponding impact on the sea level.

SL Shanth Kumar said “I believe change is a constant phenomenon. Today this change is manifesting in the form of climate change. As a photojournalist, I am seeing it all unfurl before my eyes. I have seen drought, excessive rain, summers getting hotter and winters getting colder. I believe this change is not good and we need to act now otherwise it will impact the generations to come.”

This image, “Tuvalu Beneath the Rising Tide”, won photographer Sean Gallagher the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award in the “Changing Environments” category. It shows an aerial view of fallen trees on a beach as the waves from the Funafuti lagoon in Tuvalu lap around them. Land erosion has always been a problem for the country, but problems are intensifying as sea levels rise. Rising seas are on the verge of submerging the tiny archipelago’s islands completely under water. Photo: Sean Gallagher — This image, “Tuvalu Beneath the Rising Tide”, won photographer Sean Gallagher the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award in the “Changing Environments” category. Photo: Sean Gallagher

“Tuvalu Beneath the Rising Tide” by Sean Gallagher

This image, “Tuvalu Beneath the Rising Tide”, won photographer Sean Gallagher the award in the “Changing Environments” category. It shows an aerial view of fallen trees on a beach as the waves from the Funafuti lagoon in Tuvalu lap around them. Land erosion has always been a problem for the country, but problems are intensifying as sea levels rise. Rising seas are on the verge of submerging the tiny archipelago’s islands completely under water.

This image, “Polluted New Year”, won photographer Eliud Gil Samaniego the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award in the “Sustainable Cities” category. It shows an aerial view of sunrise over Mexicali in Baja California, one of the most polluted cities in the world, on 1 January 2018. Photo: Eliud Gil Samaniego — This image, “Polluted New Year”, won photographer Eliud Gil Samaniego the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award in the “Sustainable Cities” category. Photo: Eliud Gil Samaniego

“Polluted New Year” by Eliud Gil Samaniego

This image, “Polluted New Year”, won photographer Eliud Gil Samaniego the award in the “Sustainable Cities” category. It shows an aerial view of sunrise over Mexicali in Baja California on 1 January 2018. Mexicali is one of the most polluted cities in the world because of pyrotechnics, climate change, geographic location, industry and cars.

This image, “Water Scarcity”, won photographer Frederick Dharshie Wissah the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award in the “Water, Equality, and Sustainability” category. It shows a young boy in Kakamega, Kenya drinking dirty water from a stream, due to lack of water points in the area, which has occurred due to deforestation. There is a lack of access to clean water in the area, which greatly increases the risk of diarrhoeal diseases as cholera, typhoid fever and dysentery and other water-borne tropical diseases. Photo: Frederick Dharshie Wissah — This image, “Water Scarcity”, won photographer Frederick Dharshie Wissah the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award in the “Water, Equality, and Sustainability” category. Photo: Frederick Dharshie Wissah

“Water Scarcity” by Frederick Dharshie Wissah

This image, “Water Scarcity”, won photographer Frederick Dharshie Wissah the award in the “Water, Equality, and Sustainability” category. It shows a young boy in Kakamega, Kenya drinking dirty water from a stream, due to lack of water points in the area, which has occurred due to deforestation. There is a lack of access to clean water in the area, which greatly increases the risk of diarrhoeal diseases as cholera, typhoid fever and dysentery and other water-borne tropical diseases.

This image, “Remains of the Forest”, won photographer J Henry Fair the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award in the “Climate Action and Energy” category. It shows an aerial view of the Hambach Forest, which was nearly 12,000 years old when it was bought by a power company to dig for the brown coal buried underneath. The ancient forest was once the size of Manhattan. Now only 10 percent of it remains. Photo: J Henry Fair — This image, “Remains of the Forest”, won photographer J Henry Fair the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award in the “Climate Action and Energy” category. Photo: J Henry Fair

“Remains of the Forest” by J. Henry Fair

This image, “Remains of the Forest”, won photographer J Henry Fair award in the “Climate Action and Energy” category. It shows an aerial view of the Hambach Forest, which was nearly 12,000 years old when it was bought by a power company to dig for the brown coal buried underneath. The ancient forest was once the size of Manhattan. Now only 10 percent of it remains. Photo: J Henry Fair

This image, “Desperate Measures”, won photographer Neville Ngomane the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award in the “Young Environmental Photographer of the Year” category. It shows a rhino being de-horned in an attempt to protect it from being poached. With the current severe level of poaching, experts recommend that rhinos should be dehorned every 12-24 months to effectively deter hunters. The photographer left the comment “This was not an easy watch.” Photo: Neville Ngomane — This image, “Desperate Measures”, won photographer Neville Ngomane the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019 award in the “Young Environmental Photographer of the Year” category. Photo: Neville Ngomane

“Desperate Measures” by Neville Ngomane

This image, “Desperate Measures”, won photographer Neville Ngomane the award in the “Young Environmental Photographer of the Year” category. It shows a rhino being de-horned in an attempt to protect it from being poached. With the current severe level of poaching, experts recommend that rhinos should be dehorned every 12-24 months to effectively deter hunters. The photographer left the comment “This was not an easy watch.” Photo: Neville Ngomane