Pictures of the year: Environment

Residents view the first iceberg of the season as it passes the South Shore, also known as "Iceberg Alley", near Ferryland, Newfoundland, Canada, April 16. REUTERS/Jody Martin

Men feed seagulls along the Yamuna river on a smoggy morning in New Delhi, India, November 17. REUTERS/Saumya Khandelwal

Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's tallest and most active volcano, spews lava as it erupts on the southern island of Sicily, Italy, February 28. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

A dead whale is seen on the shore of Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 15. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

A man sifts through rubbish in the Yamuna river in Delhi, India, October 31. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

The sky turns red over buildings in Canary Wharf as dust from the Sahara carried by Storm Ophelia filters sunlight over London, Britain, October 16. REUTERS/Tom Jacobs

Forest burns during "Operation Green Wave" conducted by agents of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, or Ibama, to combat illegal logging in Apui, in the southern region of the state of Amazonas, Brazil,...more

The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) lights up the sky near the village of Pallas (Muonio region) of Lapland, Finland September 8. REUTERS/Alexander Kuznetsov/All About Lapland

A girl walks amidst a dust storm on the banks of the Ganges river in Allahabad, India, February 24. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash

A British Airways airplane flies near a rainbow on its way to Heathrow Airport in London, Britain, July 23. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs

Polluted water in the river Ganges is seen in Kanpur, India, April 4. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Cypresses are seen in a field in the world famous "Crete Senesi" (Siennese clays) in Val D' Orcia, south Tuscany, Italy, August 13. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

A wild horse is herded into corrals by a helicopter during a Bureau of Land Management round-up outside Milford, Utah, January 7. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

Snow-covered trees are seen at Lake Koenigssee, Germany October 7. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

Smog is seen over the city during hazy weather in Tianjin, China, January 3. REUTERS/Stringer

A machine works its way through the snow, clearing the road crossing the mountain Sognefjellet, in Krossbu, Norway April 18. NTB Scanpix/Tore Meek via REUTERS

Natan Cabral, 5, stands on the cracked ground of the Boqueirao reservoir in the Metropolitan Region of Campina Grande, Paraiba state, Brazil, February 13. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

A long exposure shows molten lava flowing from the Piton de la Fournaise, one of the world's most active volcanoes, on the French island Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, February 3. REUTERS/Gilles Adt

Steam rises from chimneys of a heating power plant near a monument of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, with the air temperature at about minus 17 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit), during sunset in Moscow, Russia, January...more

A villager is seen following an eruption of Mount Sinabung volcano, in Beganding Village, Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia August 2. REUTERS/YT Haryono

The first snowfall of the season covers a chapel in the western Austrian village of Tulfes, Austria, November 7. REUTERS/Dominic Ebenbichler

A worker, known as a "Tecchiaiolo", examines marble at the Cervaiole quarry on Monte Altissimo in the Apuan Alps, Tuscany, Italy, July 18. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

People wearing masks dance at a square among heavy smog during a polluted day in Fuyang, Anhui province, China, January 3. China Daily/via REUTERS

Cattle killed by wildfires lie in burned pastures near Higgins, Texas, March 12. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's tallest and most active volcano, spews lava as it erupts on the southern island of Sicily, Italy February 28. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Emissions from a power plant chimney rise over Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, January 13. REUTERS/B. Rentsendorj

Gale force winds blow back the waves at Church Rock on Broad Haven Beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales, Britain, February 23. REUTERS/Rebecca Naden

Waves hit a train during heavy seas and high winds in Dawlish in southwest Britain, February 2. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A general view of the dried up Theewaterskloof dam near Cape Town, South Africa, June 2. The dam supplies most of the city 's potable water. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Julia Lu, 5, (L) and Amy Liu, 5, walk through a massive spring wildflower bloom caused by a wet winter in Lake Elsinore, California, March 14. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

A boat sails during the sunset in the sea of Fortaleza, Brazil, April 23. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

A worker of the cavern of Poco Azul (Blue Well) dives to search for belongings dropped by tourists, ahead of World Water Day, in Bahia, Brazil, March 21. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares

A plume of smoke above Mount Agung volcano is illuminated at sunset as seen from Amed, Karangasem Regency, Bali, Indonesia, November 30. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside

Residents and tourists enjoy the sea at Barra da Tijuca beach during a summer day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, January 15. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

A bottle is seen on a parched ground at Guadalteba reservoir during a strong drought in Ardales, near Malaga, southern Spain, August 6. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

Smoke rises during drought, high temperatures and low humidity in Brasilia, Brazil, August 30. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

A woman pushes a pram as she walks over a frozen lake during sundown at the Pajulahti sports center near Lahti, Finland, February 21. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

A man climbs a wall of ice in the city of Liberec, Czech Republic, January 12. REUTERS/David W Cerny

Residents clear their cars and street of snow in Weehawken, New Jersey, as the One World Trade Center and lower Manhattan are seen after a snowstorm in New York, March 14. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

Lava, inside the crater of Mount Agung volcano, reflects off ash and clouds, while it erupts, as seen from Amed, Karangasem Regency, Bali, Indonesia, November 30. Picture taken with long exposure. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside