2025 in Reuters Pictures

Nov 28 (Reuters) - Reuters published some 1.6 million photos in 2025, capturing the personal and the political, triumph and tragedy, as photographers delivered news events and daily life from 150 countries to the world.

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.

Donald Trump loomed large, his return as U.S. president bringing instant, sweeping change. Wars in Gaza and Ukraine continued, and natural disasters struck areas accustomed to calamity and those that were not.

Away from the turmoil, individuals united in sport, faith, and celebration. They found moments of spontaneous joy – flying a kite or basking in the winter sun. There was creativity on fashion runways, and chaos on the streets as people protested political leaders, corruption, and poverty.

Catholics bid farewell to Pope Francis and welcomed Leo, and migrants continued desperate journeys across borders and oceans.

Photographers from Reuters were there to record it all - and much more.

JANUARY

The world’s gaze turned to the U.S., where a wildfire laid an affluent Los Angeles suburb to waste. In Washington, jaws dropped as Donald Trump danced with the Village People and billionaire Elon Musk gave a troubling salute. Gazans hoped a fragile ceasefire would hold.

FEBRUARY

As Russian missiles rained down on Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy headed to Washington to seek Trump’s support. Their White House meeting ended in a disastrous public clash.

Back in Europe, at a protest in Athens, a fireball billowed into the exact shape of the orange tree beside it, burning in the same hue as the fruit.

MARCH

Muslims marked Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. In Caracas, a child snatched a moment alone to fly a kite from a rooftop at moonrise, viewed in silhouette above the city. A bride in Greece and a Dervish in Turkey appeared in unlikely settings.

APRIL

The world’s 1.4 billion Catholics bid farewell to Pope Francis. His funeral was an astonishing display of Vatican pomp, with Cardinals resplendent in their red robes, though Francis was buried outside the Vatican’s walls.

Not only Cardinals wear red. In a Texas detention facility, Venezuelan migrants clad in red jumpsuits feared they may be sent to prison in El Salvador. Catching sight of a Reuters photographer’s drone they formed the letters S-O-S – a message to the world.

MAY

White smoke from the Sistine Chapel signalled the election of a new pope, Leo. The month delivered chance glimpses into politicians’ private lives – Trump’s phone showed his own image, and French President Emmanuel Macron was shoved in the face by his wife.

JUNE

Tragedy struck as an Air India plane crashed 32 seconds after takeoff, killing 241 people on board and 19 on the ground. A sole survivor walked from the wreckage. In the Middle East, Israel launched an air war on Iran. The foes’ conflict lasted 12 days.

JULY

The war between Israel and Hamas waged on in Gaza and the death and injury toll rose ever higher. A global hunger monitor declared famine in parts of the enclave, and the U.N. condemned a humanitarian catastrophe. Babies died of malnourishment and the bodies of children were laid out in white shrouds. Expressions of grief took many forms.

AUGUST

Wildfire season brought fresh destruction, in a year marked by more frequent and extreme weather events due to climate change. Migrants took advantage of warmer ocean temperatures to attempt to sail to Britain.

SEPTEMBER

The emotion in a face can speak louder than words. In Kramatorsk, a Ukrainian market trader stood covered with soot from a blast. Her expression conveys anger and shock, but also defiance. A Reuters photographer captured Pope Leo’s face in a dramatic shaft of light. A little girl looked on as migrants try to hold her above water as they wade chest deep. ‘Princess’, says her hat.

OCTOBER

After two years of war, a ceasefire deal was struck in Gaza. Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees.

In Brazil, a Reuters photographer’s drone images of bodies lined up in Vila Cruzeiro favela showed the jarring juxtaposition between what looks like battlefield carnage and a bustling urban scene.

Police ran while partygoers raced, the toes of one gripping their pink high-heeled shoe.

NOVEMBER

Extreme weather events brought more misery. Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest storms to hit the Caribbean, sowed devastation across much of Jamaica. Standing in the debris of her room, a 13-year-old looked at the neat lines of handwriting in her notebook. Thailand contended with floods and in Hong Kong there was despair as a blaze tore through a housing complex.