Incredible Winners of the 2025 Weather Photographer of the Year Contest

Geshuang Chen and Shuchang Dong. Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year 2025 Winner
“It was drizzling on Lugu Lake [In China’s Yunnan Province]. I flew my drone to a height of 500 meters, passed through the rain curtain, with my lens facing away from the sun, and captured a complete circular rainbow, which was a ring given by the sun to the lake,” says engineer and astronomy photographer Geshuang Chen.
Rainbows are a well-known sight, however full-circle rainbows are a lot much less widespread. From the bottom, the decrease half of the circle is normally hidden under the horizon. From excessive above with the solar behind and rainfall forward, it’s potential to see your complete circle.
Rainbows kind when daylight enters raindrops and is bent (refracted), then mirrored off the within of the droplet, and bent once more because it exits. The result’s a spectrum of colours forming a circle across the antisolar level: the spot immediately reverse the solar from the viewer’s perspective. Since every observer’s place creates a barely totally different angle of sunshine, each rainbow is exclusive to the individual seeing it. That makes this picture significantly particular: not only a uncommon view of an entire rainbow, however a second of good alignment, with the small island framed exactly at its heart.”

Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year 2025 Climate Award Winner Jonah Lange
“A spiralling column of dust and wind dominates the Texas Plains in this striking image, captured by photographer Jonah Lange on 25 April 2025 near Sudan, Texas, USA. “This tornado picked up tons of dust as it landed. I peered on from the south side as it moved slowly off to the east,” he says. “West Texas is known for dust … as shown here!”
The twister churns with intense vitality, its collar cloud clearly seen because it pulls pink soil into the air. A smaller satellite tv for pc vortex dances close by, whereas a powerful darkish hail core looms behind the spiral. On the day this picture was taken, hailstones as much as 3 inches (7.6 cm) in diameter had been reported.”

Lukáš Gallo, Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year 2025 Public Vote Winner
“While driving near Vodňany in South Bohemia, Czechia, photographer Lukáš Gallo noticed some unusual clouds beginning to form. He kept driving, watching the sky evolve, until about 30 minutes later, a stunning set of Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds appeared overhead. He quickly pulled over, grabbed his camera, and captured the momentary display from a roadside field. “I didn’t plan this; it was all of a sudden. But I think that’s the best kind of photograph,” he says.
These uncommon ‘wave’, or fluctus, clouds are fashioned when there’s a pointy distinction in wind velocity or route between two layers of air, much like the way in which wind can whip up waves on the floor of the ocean. The result’s a spectacular sequence of cloud curls that appear like breaking ocean waves, in addition to a transparent visible warning of turbulence.”

Alex Cruz, Standard Chartered Young Weather Photographer of the Year 2025 Winner
“Captured from a passenger plane flying between Washington, DC and Orlando, Florida this photo reveals a spectacular view of a thunderstorm cloud glowing pink against a deepening blue sky. “We were flying alongside a lightning storm, which was a pretty cool sight,” says younger photographer Alex Cruz.
The monumental cloud is a cumulonimbus, the towering type that types throughout thunderstorms. These gigantic clouds are created when heat, moist air rises shortly into the sky. As it climbs, the air cools and water vapour condenses into tall clouds. When the updraughts are sturdy sufficient, they will punch excessive into the ambiance, all the way in which to the tropopause: the boundary between the decrease ambiance (the troposphere) and the stratosphere. Once it reaches its most peak, the cloud spreads out, forming the basic anvil form seen on this photograph.
The pink glow comes from the setting solar. At this time of day, daylight travels by way of extra of the ambiance, scattering shorter blue wavelengths and permitting longer pink and orange hues to dominate in a course of often called Rayleigh scattering.”

Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year Mobile Category Winner Kyaw Zay Yar Lin
“This photo captures the urgent feeling of being caught in a sudden downpour. Two fishermen work quickly: one paddling through the dark water, the other bailing it out of the boat. Their bright orange and blue clothes stand out vividly, just like the heavy raindrops streaking across the frame. The motion blur of both the fishermen and the rain make the viewer feel part of the action, caught in the sudden intensity of a tropical storm. Raindrops fall in sheets and splash against the murky lake below as water fills the boat’s base.
The rower uses the Intha people’s distinctive technique, standing at the stern with one leg wrapped around a single oar, enabling smooth, flowing paddling through the lake’s reeds. Though Inle Lake is shallow, less than two metres deep on average, it supports a rich ecosystem and a way of life, both now under threat.
Myanmar’s monsoon climate brings heavy seasonal rains, and fishing remains a vital livelihood even during storms like this. Deforestation in the surrounding hills has caused severe soil erosion, with sediment washing into the lake and shrinking it to half its original size. On top of this, climate change is altering rainfall patterns and increasing evaporation due to rising temperatures, causing water levels to fluctuate even more. Given the lake’s shallowness, these changes threaten fish stocks and fragile ecosystems.”

Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year Runner-Up Jadwiga Piasecka
“I’ve loved big waves and storms since I was a kid – the power and energy of the sea have always fascinated me. So, when Storm Eunice rolled in, I knew I couldn’t miss the opportunity to witness it firsthand,” says photographer Jadwiga Piasecka.
She took this picture from a sheltered place out of attain of the storm in Newhaven, on the south coast of the UK, the place winds had been gusting at over 80 miles per hour. “From my vantage point, I watched enormous waves battling against the sea wall, sending dramatic sprays of water high into the air…highlighting just how immense the storm’s fury truly was.”
Storm Eunice introduced England’s highest recorded wind gust of 122 miles per hour. It was one among a number of intense European windstorms in early 2022, inflicting widespread disruption throughout the UK and Ireland, with record-breaking gusts, structural harm, and coastal flooding. Waves like these are pushed by the storm’s low-pressure centre and fierce winds, which whip up the ocean into towering swells. When these waves crash into sea defences, the spray could be immense.
Peter Gibbs, one of many judges, commented: “The isolated figure emphasises the power and scale of the forces at work and the ripples on the water in the foreground add another element to emphasise the strength of the gale.” Luckily most individuals paid consideration to the uncommon pink Met Office climate warning and didn’t get too near the storm.”

Jaroslav Fous, Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year Third Place
“After spending five hours photographing halos in daylight, Jaroslav Fous patiently waited for the moon to rise over the snowy Ore Mountains near the Neklid ski area in Czechia. As temperatures dropped and diamond dust filled the air, he was rewarded with this lunar display.
Moon halos like this are relatively rare because the moon is usually too faint to produce such vivid effects. However, under the right conditions, when millions of tiny hexagonal ice crystals hang suspended in the atmosphere, moonlight scatters and reflects to form striking rings and arcs.
This mesmerising image showcases an array of rare optical phenomena: a bright 22° halo, a faint outer 46° halo, a parhelic circle, a Parry arc above the main halo, and a lower tangent arc beneath it. Bright shafts of light rising from the horizon are light pillars, created by ice crystals reflecting the artificial glow of nearby buildings.
All these features arise from the interaction of moonlight with ice crystals. Each effect depends on the precise ‘choreography’ of the ice crystals: their shapes, orientations, and how they move. For example, plate-shaped crystals aligned horizontally create light pillars, while columns tilted in specific ways produce the Parry arc. When multiple optical effects combine, they create this dazzling, almost otherworldly display.”

Tamás Kusza, Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year Mobile Category Runner-Up
“A dirt track cuts through the countryside in Ožďany, Slovakia, drawing the eye towards a sky heavy with dark, swirling clouds. In the middle of the path, a mountain bike lies still, its rider momentarily grounded by the sight ahead.
“I have always been drawn to storms,” says photographer Tamás Kusza. “I love watching the sky darken, the clouds descend, and the majestic power of nature slowly unfold. Whenever I can, I hop on my bike and head for the border, where the sky and the earth meet, and where storms are born.”
That day, he watched darkish clouds collect on the horizon. “I knew a special moment was coming. I rode the dirt road far enough until I had to stop: the sight was almost paralysing. I put my bike down and took out my camera. I stood there, facing the heart of the storm, where the power of nature and my own courage met. It was the moment before the silence. The world silently watched my steps. Would I stay and capture the storm, or turn back? But I knew: I was always heading toward the storm.”
Fast-moving summer season storms like this are widespread in central Europe, usually arriving with torrential rain, excessive winds and lightning. For Kusza, it’s precisely that unpredictability that retains him using towards the horizon.
As local weather change intensifies, elements of central Europe are seeing longer summers with extra unstable climate, together with heavier downpours and quicker storm growth, particularly over land.”

Ellen Ross, Standard Chartered Young Weather Photographer of the Year 2025 Runner-Up
“My Dad and I were paddleboarding on Lake Michigan [USA] when this storm blew in,” says younger photographer Ellen Ross. “I quickly grabbed my Dad’s phone and took this photo, because it’s rare to see such an interesting storm. Also because of the small patch of blue sky behind it. I think it shows good days to come.”

Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year Public Vote Runner-Up Himadri Bhuyan
“Captured in the early winter chill of Arunachal Pradesh, India, this image by Himadri Bhuyan reveals a frozen lake surface etched with delicate, fractal-like ice patterns. “The subzero temperature was hurting my hands and feet,” he recollects, “but the frozen patterns caught my attention, and I had to stop and capture them.” Taken close to Pangateng Tso Lake in mid-November, the scene might look serene, however beneath its stillness lies a delicate signal of a altering local weather.
As water freezes, it expands and crystallises from the perimeters inward. Variations in temperature, impurities and wind can create hanging floor patterns: ridges, strains and bubbles etched within the ice because it types. Each line captures a second within the lake’s freezing course of: a visual report of fixing situations.”

Maria del Pilar Trigo Bonnin, Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year 2025 Climate Award Runner-Up
“Two men ride through a road strewn with debris, heading home to what remains after Typhoon Rai (locally named Odette) tore across Siargao Island, Philippines, in December 2021. Photographer Maria del Pilar Trigo Bonnin took the shot from the back of another motorbike as they made their way through the devastation. “I handheld the camera and captured the moment quickly the stillness, the chaos, and the long shadows told the story of what we had just lived through.”
Typhoon Rai struck as a Category 5 storm, with winds exceeding 250 km/h. It quickly intensified over heat ocean waters earlier than landfall, a sample that’s changing into extra widespread with local weather change. For many in Siargao, the storm was not like something that they had seen in a long time. Trees had been flattened, properties torn aside, and lives upended in a matter of hours.”

Shaun Mills, Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year Public Vote, Third Place
“During a storm on Britain’s east coast, waves crash against the sea defences at Overstrand, Norfolk, sending sea spray high into the air. Photographer Shaun Mills writes: “A photo trip to the Norfolk coast coincided with a storm, and I took the opportunity to capture some incredibly rough seas. The image was taken to isolate the individual spray, giving the impression of a snowstorm.”
Sea spray types when sturdy winds tear throughout wave crests, ejecting tiny droplets of saltwater into the air. These airborne droplets can vary in dimension from seen bursts to microscopic particles that affect cloud formation and climate patterns. Capturing them in movement requires quick shutter speeds and cautious timing. Here, the picture was cropped to fill the body with the dynamic texture of spray.
The stormy situations that produce such scenes have gotten extra frequent and intense in a warming local weather. As world temperatures rise, so too does the vitality accessible to gasoline excessive climate methods. At the identical time, sea stage rise poses an rising menace to low-lying coastal areas like Norfolk. East Anglia’s coast is especially susceptible resulting from its delicate, eroding cliffs and already subsiding land. Storm-driven wave motion, mixed with larger sea ranges, can speed up coastal erosion and overwhelm ageing defences.”