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https://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo-contest/2022/Konstantinos-Tsakalidis/1

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08 August, 2021

Wildfires broke out on Evia - Greece's largest island after Crete - in July and August, following the hottest weather Greece had experienced in 30 years. The megafire (so called because of its intensity, size, duration and uncontrolled character) raged through large forests in the north of the island, as well as rural and urban areas, and took almost two weeks to bring under control. Around 1,000 firefighters battled the blaze, with extra equipment flown in from other EU countries, Russia, the UK and the US. Some 2,500 people were evacuated by boat, and, according to the University of Athens, the fire eventually covered an expanse of more than 1,900 square kilometers, more than half the island's area.

Annual fires are a common occurrence in the Mediterranean, but stronger heatwaves led to a longer, more intense annual fire season. Devastating wildfires also took place in Turkey, Italy, Spain in 2021. While global heating is undoubtedly a factor in the fire on Evia, local reports also pointed to other contributing factors, such as rural depopulation (resulting in lack of land management), budget cuts in the fire brigade, and changes in fire management strategies.

This photograph became a symbol of the impact of wildfires in Europe. Kritsiopi is quoted as saying: "At that moment I was shouting not only for myself. For the whole village." In the end, her home remained intact. The fire stopped meters before her yard.

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08 August, 2021 Wildfires broke out on Evia - Greece's largest island after Crete - in July and August, following the hottest weather Greece had experienced in 30 years. The megafire (so called because of its intensity, size, duration and uncontrolled character) raged through large forests in the north of the island, as well as rural and urban areas, and took almost two weeks to bring under control.

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A black kite (subspecies Affinis of Milvus migrans) flies above a cool-burn fire lit by hunters earlier in the day, in Mamadawerre, Arnhem Land, Australia. The raptor, also known as a firehawk, is native to Northern and Eastern Australia, and hunts near active fires, snatching up large insects, small mammals, and reptiles as they flee the flames.

Indigenous Australians have strategically burned land to protect their environment for tens of thousands of years. In a practice known as cool burning, fires move slowly, burn only the undergrowth, and remove the build-up of fuel that feeds bigger blazes. As a result, these traditional burns prevent larger, more destructive fires from occurring in the hotter, dryer months of the year. The Nawarddeken people, one of the traditional owners of West Arnhem Land in the north of Australia, see fire as a way to rejuvenate the land, and use it as a tool to manage their 1.39 million hectare homeland. Warddeken rangers use traditional knowledge and combine it with contemporary technologies such as aerial burning and digital mapping to prevent wildfires. In doing so, they have successfully decreased the amount of climate-heating CO2. The emissions saved earn carbon credits, and the proceeds are invested in the community and environmental projects.

The photographer is an Australian who once lived in West Arnhem Land and was accepted into a local community. He sees sharing the Warddeken rangers' solution to wildfires important due to the climate crisis and the intensive bushfires Australia has seen in recent years.

Jury comment

The story responds to Australia's devastating forest fires and makes us question what the world would look like if we had listened to ancient knowledge. The body of work is a proactive and pragmatic lesson which does not exoticize the Nawarddeken people, a First Nations group, but rather highlights the crucial value of their knowledge in a comprehensive review. While each image is strong on its own, intentional editing, strong pacing, and the sequencing of images illustrates how culture and the environment are inseparable in indigenous cultures. Furthermore, the story provides a refreshing balance of humans and nature in a way which forwards a perspective of interconnectedness and the role of humans as stewards of the land.

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A black kite (subspecies Affinis of Milvus migrans ) flies above a cool-burn fire lit by hunters earlier in the day, in Mamadawerre, Arnhem Land, Australia. The raptor, also known as a firehawk, is native to Northern and Eastern Australia, and hunts near active fires, snatching up large insects, small mammals, and reptiles as they flee the flames.

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Evia Island Wildfire by Konstantinos Tsakalidis

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https://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo-contest/2022/Nanna-Heitmann/7

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27 June, 2021

Sakha, also known as Yakutia, which extends over more than three million square kilometers in the far northeast of the Russian Federation, experienced devastating wildfires, severe smoke pollution, and melting of its permafrost in 2021. The region - 40% of which lies within the Arctic Circle - is one of the coldest inhabited places on Earth, with temperatures varying from -60°C in winter to 40°C in summer, according to the Scott Polar Research Institute. The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme reports that the Arctic is heating three times faster than the global average. In Sakha, even though fires are a natural part of the ecosystem, a mild spring followed by extremely hot and dry weather led to a record-breaking fire season in the region. By mid-August, more than 17.08 million hectares had been ravaged by fire, according to Greenpeace Russia - larger than the areas burned by fires in Greece, Turkey, Italy, the US, and Canada combined. NASA satellite imagery showed smoke from the wildfires to have traveled more than 3,000 km to the North Pole. Firefighters told Agence France-Presse they lacked the personnel and equipment to deal with the wildfires, and critics pointed to a 2015 law that allows authorities to let wildfires burn if the potential damage is considered not worth the costs of containing them. This leads to a slow response time while fires grow ever more out of control.

In addition to the fires, there are indications that higher temperatures are leading to degradation of the permafrost - soil and rocks held together by ice and containing large amounts of organic carbon from frozen plant material. As permafrost melts, this material rots, releasing carbon dioxide and methane, which can be an even more potent greenhouse gas.

The photographer is half-Russian, and has been based in Russia for five years. She frequently works in Siberia, as a part of her family roots are from there, and wishes to raise awareness of the speed at which global heating is affecting Siberia.

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Veronika in her room in Yunkyur, in southern Sakha, Siberia, Russia. As with other village houses, the foundations of her family’s home are being undermined by thawing permafrost. The floor is sinking, cracks run through the walls, and the basement where the family stored potatoes has collapsed.