National Geographic has a reputation for breathtaking imagery – and its latest Pictures of the Year edition shows why.
The compelling December 2024 issue includes the ‘most stunning’ images taken by Nat Geo photographers this year – ‘photos that capture the wonder of our world’.
An astounding 2.3million photographs were whittled down to 20 images that will provoke thoughts and drop jaws.
Here we present seven from the final selection, with our picks including a mesmerising picture of Guatemala’s Fuego Volcano exploding and a magnificent dune in Egypt’s vast desert.
We’ve also included a shot of a beautiful black tiger patrolling the Similipal Tiger Reserve in eastern India and an incredible picture of a young emperor penguin in Antarctica jumping off a 50ft cliff for its first swim.
Scroll down for a visual feast like no other.
A young emperor penguin jumps off a 50-foot cliff for its first swim. Nat Geo adds ‘The species normally breeds on low-lying sea ice, but some colonies have been found on higher and more permanent ice shelves, behavior likely to become increasingly common with climate change. Left by their parents a month earlier, the chicks must fend for themselves and find food by hunting in the sea’
A mesmerising shot of Guatemala’s Fuego Volcano, which has been erupting continuously since 2002. Nat Geo reveals: ‘A one-day hike up its dormant twin, Acatenango, and across a valley rewards adventurers with a view from Fuego’s ridgeline. Eruptions can occur multiple times a day’
A spellbinding picture of a black tiger – known for its merged stripes – patrolling the Similipal Tiger Reserve in eastern India
This is Siwa Oasis in Egypt’s Western Desert. Its dunes are a big draw for tourists, says Nat Geo
This image captured a rare moment in the world of cicadas. Nat Geo explains: ‘Periodical cicadas spend 13 or 17 years in the ground, emerging only to reproduce. Last May and June, for the first time in 221 years, brood XIII, with a 17-year cycle, and brood XIX, with a 13-year cycle, emerged simultaneously in the Midwest and southeastern United States, respectively, filling the air with vibrations as they called out to mate’
A scientist holds the 70-day-old fetus of a rhino conceived through in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The surrogate mother sadly died from a bacterial infection
This thought-provoking image shows a shrine inn an area with a rich history of animism, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism that’s maintained by local Wakhi people, who are Ismaili Muslims. Nat Geo explains that a tree that fell years ago on the shrine’s tomb, adorned with horns from ibex and sheep, was left in place as custom dictates
Visual feast: The cover of the National Geographic Pictures of the Year 2024 issue