a tree affected by fires is illuminated by the warm light of the sunset, Yosemite National Park, California, United States of America

Women filling water pots in the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha cattle camp where drought affected cattle are fed and watered, Gondal, Gujarat, India, Asia

Women filling water pots in the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha cattle camp where drought affected cattle are fed and watered, Gondal, Gujarat, India, Asia

Wooden boardwalk leading to area of barren trees affected by fire, near Refugio Paine Grande, Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile, South America

Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) off a beach in northern Svalbard, once hunted to near extinction they are now recovering, only to be affected by climate change which reduces the sea ice they like to haul out on.

Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) off a beach in northern Svalbard, once hunted to near extinction they are now recovering, only to be affected by climate change which reduces the sea ice they like to haul out on.

CAMBODIA Group of children. Don Tok village, Kampot, lies beside a river estuary and is often flooded by sea water, a consequence of climate change during the last few years. CRS is studying the problem through its partner agency, SCW (Save Cambodian Wildlife). Local children and families who are being affected by local flooding. photo by Sean Sprague

Rebuilding at Marysville, one of the worst affected communities of the catastrophic 2009 Australian Bush Fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, Pacific

Burnt forest near Marysville, one of the worst affected communities of the catastrophic 2009 Australian Bush Fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, Pacific

Rebuilding houses at Kinglake, one of the worst affected communities of the catastrophic 2009 Australian Bush Fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, Pacific

Burnt forest near Kinglake, one of the worst affected communities of the catastrophic 2009 Australian Bush Fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, Pacific

The centre of Marysville destroyed by the bush fires, it was one of the worst affected communities of the catastrophic 2009 Australian Bush Fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, Pacific

Burnt forest near Kinglake, one of the worst affected communities of the catastrophic 2009 Australian Bush Fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, Pacific

Rebuilding houses at Kinglake, one of the worst affected communities of the catastrophic 2009 Australian Bush Fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, Pacific

One year on from the catastrophinc 2009 Bush Fires survivors are still living in emergency housing at Kinglake, one of the worst affected communities, Victoria, Australia, Pacific

Burnt forest near Marysville, one of the worst affected communities of the catastrophic 2009 Australian Bush Fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, Pacific

Burnt forest near Marysville, one of the worst affected communities of the catastrophic 2009 Australian Bush Fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, Pacific

A church destroyed at Kinglake, one of the worst affected communities of the catastrophic 2009 Australian Bush Fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, Pacific

Rebuilding houses at Kinglake, one of the worst affected communities of the catastrophic 2009 Australian Bush Fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, Pacific

Group of Children Affected by AIDS

A drought is an extended period of months, or years, when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region.

A Pashtun man stands outside the Cuban hospital in the Meira camp for earthquake survivors, NWFP, Pakistan. The Cuban government sent 30,000 doctors, nurses and other personnel to set up field hospitals throughout the earthquake affected area. The Meira Tent camp (also called Mera, or Maria camp), is run by the Pakistani army like a small city, and is located on the Indus River in the Battagram district. The camp, the largest for displaced people in Pakistan, hosts over 21,000 earthquake survivors, primarily Pashtuns from the Allai valley in Pakistan's NWFP, one of the areas worst-hit by the October 8, 2005 earthquake.

A crew of workers clears the tracks of the train that connects the Peruvian cities of Huancayo and Huancavelica. During the rainy season, January to March, the route is heavily affected by landslides.

Farmland affected by Drought, Red River Valley, Manitoba

Farmland affected by Drought, Red River Valley, Manitoba

Farmer on land affected by Drought, Red River Valley, Manitoba

Farmland affected by Drought, Red River Valley, Manitoba

Farmer on land affected by Drought, Red River Valley, Manitoba

Farmer on land affected by Drought, Red River Valley, Manitoba

Farmland affected by Drought, Red River Valley, Manitoba

Farmland affected by Drought

Tara Oceans Expeditions - May 2011. Tara with deployed plancton nets. On "station", the boat is drifting without engine or sails. Tara Oceans, a unique expedition: Tara Oceans is the very first attempt to make a global study of marine plankton, a form of sea life that includes organisms as small as viruses and bacterias, and as big as medusas. Our goal is to better understand planktonic ecosystems by exploring the countless species, learning about interactions among them and with their environment. Marine plankton is the only ecosystem that is almost continuous over the surface of the Earth. Studying plankton is like taking the pulse of our planet. Recently, scientists have discovered the great importance of plankton for the climate: populations of plankton are affected very rapidly by variations in climate. But in turn they can influence the climate by modifying the absorption of carbon. In a context of rapid physico-chemical changes, for example the acidification observed today in the world's oceans, it is urgent to understand and predict the evolution of these particular ecosystems. Finally, plankton is an astonishing way of going back in time ? a prime source of fossils. Over the eons, plankton has created several hundred meters of sediment on the ocean floors. This allows us to go back in time, to the first oceans on Earth, and better understand the history of our biosphere. More than 12 fields of research are involved in the project, which will bring together an international team of oceanographers, ecologists, biologists, geneticists, and physicists from prestigious laboratories headed by Eric Karsenti of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Galapagos

Club Med or Caravelle Beach affected by the arrival of a bench of Sargasso, municipality of Saint Anne, Guadeloupe, French West Indies

Club Med or Caravelle Beach affected by the arrival of a bench of Sargasso, municipality of Saint Anne, Guadeloupe, French West Indies

Woman holding a garlic bulb affected by garlic mould (Penicillium allii)