Reuters photographers witnessed 2022’s most important events, from the horrors of war in Ukraine and other armed conflicts to unprecedented natural disasters and from the flight of refugees and migrants to protests around the globe.
They were in Ukraine’s Bucha after Russian forces pulled out and saw bodies lying in the street. They were in the flood waters of Florida to capture the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian. And they were in the streets of the South Korean capital Seoul as the emergency services recovered the dead after a crowd crush.
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Others photographed the parched landscapes of drought-hit Somalia and the desperation of those who live there.
They also captured the joy as anti-corruption protesters ran through the presidential palace in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo and as Britons celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth. Three months later, they captured the extraordinary pomp and ceremony of her funeral, and the outpouring of grief of mourners.
“It was nearly midnight and I couldn’t sleep. Then I saw a breaking news alert that dozens of people were injured in a crowd crush in central Seoul… When I arrived, bodies were being taken out, injured people were getting help in front of me and Halloween party goers were walking past the injured… It was an unbelievable, surreal, chaotic situation. It took a lot of effort to control my emotions.” Kim Hong-ji, Seoul
“From a distance I saw a Somali woman standing in the scorching heat. I walked towards her, wiping the pouring sweat off my head and face. I photographed her and asked her why she was standing there. She said her name was Habiba Bile and that all her 200 goats had perished. ‘This dead one was the last animal,’ she said. She was grieving, starving.” Feisal Omar, Gedo Region, Somalia
“We headed to Bucha, a suburb just outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, behind a humanitarian convoy, when we heard the Russians had pulled out. I had expected to find destroyed military vehicles and dead soldiers. I had no idea of the horrors I would witness. I had no idea we would find the bodies of civilians lying out in the streets.” Zohra Bensemra, Bucha, Ukraine
Click here for a selection of some exceptional Reuters pictures taken in 2022 along with the stories behind the shots, directly from the photographers who took them. (Writing by Alexandra Hudson Editing by Louise Heavens)