Punishing heat that hovered and hung on much longer than usual. Flash floods that washed away large swaths of land and life. And wildfires that burned much of the year, leaving a wake of smoke and charred earth.
The toll of disasters propelled by climate change in 2023 can be tallied with numbers — thousands of people dead, millions of others who lost jobs, homes and hope, and tens of billions of dollars sheared off economies.
But numbers can’t reflect the way climate change is experienced — the intensity, the insecurity and the inequality that people on Earth are living. Associated Press photographers around the world captured moments in 2023 that collectively tell that story, one of a changing world
2023 images show violence and vibrance in Latin America
In 2023, calamities of war and disaster were unleashed again on an unsettled Middle East
An earthquake, a shipwreck and a king’s coronation are among Europe’s views in 2023
2023 was marked by coups and a Moroccan earthquake on the African continent
Photographers in Asia capture the extraordinary, tragic and wonderful in 2023
The year in photos: AP’s most memorable photos of 2023