Damage caused by Cyclone Yasi in Mission Beach, Northern Queensland. The greatest La Nina event in recorded history delivered record amounts of rain to north-eastern Queensland causing near unprecedented flooding across much of the state and immersed many of the Bowen and Fitzroy Basin’s open cut coal mines in water. 

Pumps operating to remove water from a flooded Collinsville open cut coal mine in northern Queensland.

Ice Feature in Greenland. An ice feature, which looks like a face, is caused by dark coloured cryoconite deposits falling on the ice. The darker shade of the cryconite (airbourne dust and impurities carried across the glacier by wind) lower the albedo or reflectance of the glacier’s surface, this causes the ice underneath the black parts to absorb more heat and melt much faster than the surrounding ice.

Meltwater waterfalls cascade over the front of Humboldt glacier, cutting channels into the calving face. Caused by atmospheric warming of the glacier’s surface, meltwater runs over the ice towards the sea via a network of ravines, eventually flowing into the fjord of Kane Basin.

A road through charred forest in Steel Creek.

Burning Oil from Oil Rig Disaster. Fire and smoke rise from a controlled burn of oil on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico near BP’s Deepwater Horizon spill source. The BP leased Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded April 20 and sank after burning, leaking record amounts of crude oil from the broken pipeline into the sea.

Amazon Drought, October 2005. Big river boat trapped on a sand bank East of Barreirinha, during one of the worst droughts ever recorded in the Amazon. 

Permafrost Tundra in Yamal Peninsula. An aerial view of permafrost tundra in the Yamal Peninsula. The entire region is under heavy threat from global warming as temperatures increase and Russia’s ancient permafrost melts.

Richard Walker fills equipment used to provide water for his livestock. Walker is the son of a grazier and the station manager of the Euroka Station, 50kms outside of Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia. His paddocks are almost bare, forcing Richard into a daily routine of hand feeding his sheep and cattle. Hand feeding is used in times when ground cover is insufficient for animals to graze and human intervention is required to provide feed for livestock. This involves either trawling a ground feeder that deposits grain supplements or the loading of self-feeders.           

Farm Silhouette – Drought Documentation (Australia: 2007). Drought is severely affecting farmers and graziers in Australia. The situation is dire for those relying on the Murray-Darling River system. Graziers already facing economic hardships are being forced to re-evaluate stock numbers, prompting large livestock sales throughout the country.            

The PS20 solar tower plant sits at Sanlucar la Mayor outside Seville, Spain. The solar tower plant, the first commercial solar tower in the world, by the Spanish company Solucar (Abengoa), can provide electricity for up to 6,000 homes.

Gemasolar, a 15 MW Parabolic Power Plant, employs molten salt technologies for receiving and storing energy. Its 16hr molten salt storage system can deliver power around the clock. It runs the equivalent of 6570 full hours out of 8769 total. Gemasolar is owned by Torresol Energy and was completed in May 2011.

The Takitimu sub-bituminous coal mine, at Nightcaps, is owned by Eastern Coal and supplies Fonterra’s Clandeboye dairy factory and New Zealand Dairies’ plant at Studholme.

Jharia Coal Mine Illegal Pickers. Illegal coal pickers return home raiding the open coal mines in Jharia amidst the toxic fumes that are released by the underground burning coal. Jharia is one of the most important coal mines in India and one of the largest in Asia. Once a treasure trove of high-quality coking coal, uncontrollable fires have turned the mine and the surroundings into a slow-burning inferno. Before coal was unearthed in this area, Jharia was a belt of dense forests inhabited by tribes.             

A steppe fire at night in the Volgogradsky region in Russia. Greenpeace sent a team of volunteers to help extinguish the fire.

A polar bear is spotted on drifting and unconsolidated sea ice in Kane Basin, off Cape Clay, at a position of 79 57.359N 064 51.120W. Polar bears cannot survive without sea ice, using it to raise their young, to travel and as a platform for hunting seals – their primary food source.

Cleared land for farming owned by Ari Batista Domingos’ fazenda (farm).

Saihanba Wind Farm in Inner Mongolia. A rainbow appears above the Datang Saihanba Wind Farm in Chifeng. Datang is one of the largest wind power developers in China. The Saihanba Wind Farm has an installed capacity of 49.5MW and the power generation output is 275.14GWh.            

Severe Drought in Brazilian Amazon. Severe drought impacts the Brazilian Amazon. Thousands of fish die at the dry river bed of Manaquiri Lake, 150km from the Capital, Manaus. The lake is now reduced to a narrow stream.            

A burned electric pole in the steppe after a fire in Volgogradsky region in Russia.

Oiled Brown Pelicans in Louisiana. Adult brown pelicans wait in a holding pen to be cleaned by volunteers at the Fort Jackson International Bird Rescue Research Center in Buras. Members of the Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research team work to clean birds covered in oil from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead disaster. The BP leased Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded on April 20 and sank after burning. This image was part of the photo essay which won Daniel Beltrá the overall prize for the 2011 NHM Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest.

Oil from Oil Rig Disaster.  A view of oil on the sea surface from an altitude of 1000m, originated by the leaking of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead disaster. The BP leased oil platform exploded April 20 and sank after burning, leaking an estimate of more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil per day from the broken pipeline into the sea.

Sea Level Rise in India. Shukdev Das, living in Ghoramara Island, is one of the many people affected by sea level rise: “I lost my house due to the Ganga. We are certain that in the near future, our Ghoramara Island will also be under the Ganga. We don’t know where we will live in the future.”

Climate Impact Documentation Patagonia (Chile & Argentina : 2004). Original photograph taken in 1928 of the Upsala Glacier. ©Archivo Museo Salesiano/De Agostini. Comparison image taken in 2004. ©Greenpeace/Daniel Beltrá 

Dry Lake – Drought Documentation (Australia: 2007).  An old sign next to a dry lake indicates a no swimming area. The lake in Condobolin has been dry for over 3 years. When the lake was full, it brought many economic benefits to the small town because the waters attracted fishermen and water-skiers. Drought is severely affecting the region in Australia. The situation is dire for those relying on the Murray-Darling River system. This once majestic river system occupies and supports four of Australia’s several states and in places has been reduced to a mere trickle.

Sea Ice at the Petermann Glacier. The south west side of the front of Petermann glacier shows decay of the front of the glacier exposed to warmer sea water and moraine deposits from the margins. There is thinning from the base of the glacier, known as basal melting or submarine melting.