The Year in Photos for 2015

A look back at the most visually stunning images that inform and inspire from 2015.
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The Year in Photos for 2015
Afghan migrants disembark safely from their frail boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on Oct. 28, 2015. Greece’s government says it is preparing a rent-assistance program to cope with a growing number of refugees, who face the oncoming winter and mounting resistance in Europe. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios)
12/31/2015
Updated:
1/2/2016

A look back at the most visually stunning images that inform and inspire from 2015.

January

People gather at Union Square in New York City in reaction to the terrorist attack on French newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 07, 2015. Twelve people were killed, including two police officers, after gunmen opened fire at the offices of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo. (Yana Paskova/Getty Images)
People gather at Union Square in New York City in reaction to the terrorist attack on French newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 07, 2015. Twelve people were killed, including two police officers, after gunmen opened fire at the offices of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo. (Yana Paskova/Getty Images)

 

A flock of sheep walk in the haze in a Beijing suburb, China, on Jan. 15, 2015. The Air Quality Index reached more than 500 in Beijing, resulting in a smog hitting the city. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
A flock of sheep walk in the haze in a Beijing suburb, China, on Jan. 15, 2015. The Air Quality Index reached more than 500 in Beijing, resulting in a smog hitting the city. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

 

Chinese Kazakh eagle hunters ride with their eagles during a local competition in the mountains of Qinghe County in Xinjiang, northwestern China, on Jan. 30, 2015. The training and handling of the large birds of prey follows a strict set of ancient rules that Kazakh eagle hunters are preserving for future generations. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
Chinese Kazakh eagle hunters ride with their eagles during a local competition in the mountains of Qinghe County in Xinjiang, northwestern China, on Jan. 30, 2015. The training and handling of the large birds of prey follows a strict set of ancient rules that Kazakh eagle hunters are preserving for future generations. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

March

Chelsea Clinton at the release of the No Ceilings Full Participation Report on status of women and girls worldwide in New York City on March 9, 2015. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)
Chelsea Clinton at the release of the No Ceilings Full Participation Report on status of women and girls worldwide in New York City on March 9, 2015. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)

 

A Kurdish Syrian woman and her child on March 25, 2015, walk through what is left of the Syrian city of Kobani after Kurdish fighters drove out ISIS terrorists following months of fighting. (Yasin Akgul/AFP/Getty Images)
A Kurdish Syrian woman and her child on March 25, 2015, walk through what is left of the Syrian city of Kobani after Kurdish fighters drove out ISIS terrorists following months of fighting. (Yasin Akgul/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Firefighters respond to a seven-alarm fire following a gas explosion in the East Village on March 26, 2015. Three buildings collapsed, nineteen people were injured, and two died. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)
Firefighters respond to a seven-alarm fire following a gas explosion in the East Village on March 26, 2015. Three buildings collapsed, nineteen people were injured, and two died. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)

April

People hold a candlelight vigil in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 7, 2015, for the victims of an attack on a university campus in Garissa claimed by Shebab extremists in which 148 people were killed. (Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images)
People hold a candlelight vigil in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 7, 2015, for the victims of an attack on a university campus in Garissa claimed by Shebab extremists in which 148 people were killed. (Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Hundreds of demonstrators march during a protest against police brutality and the death of Freddie Gray in police custody in the Sandtown neighborhood of Baltimore on April 22, 2015. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Hundreds of demonstrators march during a protest against police brutality and the death of Freddie Gray in police custody in the Sandtown neighborhood of Baltimore on April 22, 2015. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

 

A view from Puerto Montt of a high column of ash and lava spewing from the Calbuco volcano in Chile on April 22, 2015. (Diego Main/AFP/Getty Images)
A view from Puerto Montt of a high column of ash and lava spewing from the Calbuco volcano in Chile on April 22, 2015. (Diego Main/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Emergency rescue workers carry a victim on a stretcher after the Dharahara Tower collapsed in a magnitude-7.8 quake in Kathmandu, Nepal, on April 25, 2015. (Omar Havana/Getty Images)
Emergency rescue workers carry a victim on a stretcher after the Dharahara Tower collapsed in a magnitude-7.8 quake in Kathmandu, Nepal, on April 25, 2015. (Omar Havana/Getty Images)

May

About 100,000 residents carry portraits of their ancestors, participants in World War Two as they celebrate the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in World War II in St. Petersburg, Russia, on May 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)
About 100,000 residents carry portraits of their ancestors, participants in World War Two as they celebrate the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in World War II in St. Petersburg, Russia, on May 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

June

Rohingya migrants, who were found at sea on a boat, collect rain water at a temporary shelter outside Maungdaw township, Burma, on June 4, 2015. Thousands of people have fled ethnic persecution in Burma. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty Images)
Rohingya migrants, who were found at sea on a boat, collect rain water at a temporary shelter outside Maungdaw township, Burma, on June 4, 2015. Thousands of people have fled ethnic persecution in Burma. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty Images)

 

German chancellor Angela Merkel speaks with President Barack Obama during the G-7 summit at Schloss Elmau hotel in southern Germany on June 8, 2015. (Michaek Kappeler/Pool Photo via AP, File)
German chancellor Angela Merkel speaks with President Barack Obama during the G-7 summit at Schloss Elmau hotel in southern Germany on June 8, 2015. (Michaek Kappeler/Pool Photo via AP, File)

July

Britain's Prince George gets up on tip-toes to peek into the pram of his sister Princess Charlotte after Charlotte's Christening at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, England, on July 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File)
Britain's Prince George gets up on tip-toes to peek into the pram of his sister Princess Charlotte after Charlotte's Christening at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, England, on July 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File)

 

French police officers inspect a piece of debris from a plane in Saint-Andre, Reunion Island, on July 29, 2015. It was later confirmed the wing flap found on an island in the western Indian Ocean was part of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 that had disappeared 17 months before. (AP Photo/Lucas Marie, File)
French police officers inspect a piece of debris from a plane in Saint-Andre, Reunion Island, on July 29, 2015. It was later confirmed the wing flap found on an island in the western Indian Ocean was part of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 that had disappeared 17 months before. (AP Photo/Lucas Marie, File)

August

A firefighter is silhouetted by his headlamp as he monitors a backfire while battling the Rocky Fire near Clearlake, California, on Aug. 3, 2015. Nearly 3,000 firefighters were battling the Rocky Fire that has burned over 60,000 acres and has forced the evacuation of 12,000 residents in Lake County. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
A firefighter is silhouetted by his headlamp as he monitors a backfire while battling the Rocky Fire near Clearlake, California, on Aug. 3, 2015. Nearly 3,000 firefighters were battling the Rocky Fire that has burned over 60,000 acres and has forced the evacuation of 12,000 residents in Lake County. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

 

Rows of new Volkswagen cars stand charred following a series of massive explosions at a chemical warehouse in Tianjin, northern China, on Aug. 13, 2015. According to state media, 173 people were killed, but observers say the number could be several times higher. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Rows of new Volkswagen cars stand charred following a series of massive explosions at a chemical warehouse in Tianjin, northern China, on Aug. 13, 2015. According to state media, 173 people were killed, but observers say the number could be several times higher. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Migrants on a dinghy arrives at the southeastern island of Kos, Greece, after crossing from Turkey on Aug. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Migrants on a dinghy arrives at the southeastern island of Kos, Greece, after crossing from Turkey on Aug. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

September

Hollywood actress Malin Akerman helps King Digital Entertainment set the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Hammock in Jersey City, N.J., on Sept. 2, 2015. (Charles Sykes/Invision for King World Entertainment/AP Images)
Hollywood actress Malin Akerman helps King Digital Entertainment set the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Hammock in Jersey City, N.J., on Sept. 2, 2015. (Charles Sykes/Invision for King World Entertainment/AP Images)

 

Migrants arrive during heavy rain at the Hungarian-Austrian border in Nickelsdorf, Austria, on Sept. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
Migrants arrive during heavy rain at the Hungarian-Austrian border in Nickelsdorf, Austria, on Sept. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

 

Queen Elizabeth II travels on a steam train to inaugurate the new £294 million Scottish Borders Railway, on the day the Queen becomes Britain's longest reigning monarch in Tweedbank, England, on Sept. 9, 2015. (Andrew Milligan - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth II travels on a steam train to inaugurate the new £294 million Scottish Borders Railway, on the day the Queen becomes Britain's longest reigning monarch in Tweedbank, England, on Sept. 9, 2015. (Andrew Milligan - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

 

Pope Francis (C) is escorted by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as he greets political and Catholic church leaders at Joint Base Andrews, Md., after arriving from Cuba on Sept. 22, 2015. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Pope Francis (C) is escorted by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as he greets political and Catholic church leaders at Joint Base Andrews, Md., after arriving from Cuba on Sept. 22, 2015. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

 

A supermoon rises behind Glastonbury Tor in Glastonbury, England, on Sept. 27, 2015. Supermoons happen when a full moon occurs during the moon's closest orbit to Earth. This year's was particularly rare as it coincided with a lunar eclipse, which has not happened since 1982 and won't happen again until 2033. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
A supermoon rises behind Glastonbury Tor in Glastonbury, England, on Sept. 27, 2015. Supermoons happen when a full moon occurs during the moon's closest orbit to Earth. This year's was particularly rare as it coincided with a lunar eclipse, which has not happened since 1982 and won't happen again until 2033. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

October

A man cries over the body of a victim at the site of an explosion in Ankara, Turkey, on Oct. 10, 2015. Two bomb explosions targeting a peace rally killed dozens of people and injured scores of others near Ankara's main train station as people were gathering for the rally. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)
A man cries over the body of a victim at the site of an explosion in Ankara, Turkey, on Oct. 10, 2015. Two bomb explosions targeting a peace rally killed dozens of people and injured scores of others near Ankara's main train station as people were gathering for the rally. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)

 

Over one thousand Falun Gong practitioners from around the world participate in a candlelight vigil outside the Chinese Consulate-General in Los Angeles on Oct. 15, 2015. The pictures held by those in the vigil are of Falun Gong practitioners killed in the persecution in China. (Larry Dye/Epoch Times)
Over one thousand Falun Gong practitioners from around the world participate in a candlelight vigil outside the Chinese Consulate-General in Los Angeles on Oct. 15, 2015. The pictures held by those in the vigil are of Falun Gong practitioners killed in the persecution in China. (Larry Dye/Epoch Times)

 

Syrian refugee children attend a class at a makeshift school set up in a tent near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Jordan on Oct. 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Syrian refugee children attend a class at a makeshift school set up in a tent near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Jordan on Oct. 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

 

A Pakistani woman who lost her two grandsons in a magnitude-7.5 earthquake, mourns as she sits on the rubble of her destroyed home in Jinjara village in Chitral, Pakistan, on Oct. 28, 2015. Afghanistan and Pakistan were scrambling to rush aid to survivors of the earthquake as the region's overall death toll from the temblor rose more than 380. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
A Pakistani woman who lost her two grandsons in a magnitude-7.5 earthquake, mourns as she sits on the rubble of her destroyed home in Jinjara village in Chitral, Pakistan, on Oct. 28, 2015. Afghanistan and Pakistan were scrambling to rush aid to survivors of the earthquake as the region's overall death toll from the temblor rose more than 380. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

 

Afghan migrants reach for the shore on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey on Oct. 28, 2015. Over 1 million migrants and refugees, fueled largely by the war in Syria, arrived in Europe this year. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios)
Afghan migrants reach for the shore on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey on Oct. 28, 2015. Over 1 million migrants and refugees, fueled largely by the war in Syria, arrived in Europe this year. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios)

 

Paramedics and doctors care for a rescued baby girl after a boat migrants sunk while crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos on Oct. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios, File)
Paramedics and doctors care for a rescued baby girl after a boat migrants sunk while crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos on Oct. 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios, File)

November

Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition politician, chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, arrives at the polling station to cast vote during Myanmar's first free and fair election in Yangon, Myanmar, on Nov. 8, 2015. The elections will be Myanmar's first openly contested polls in 25 years, following decades of military rule. (Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition politician, chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, arrives at the polling station to cast vote during Myanmar's first free and fair election in Yangon, Myanmar, on Nov. 8, 2015. The elections will be Myanmar's first openly contested polls in 25 years, following decades of military rule. (Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)

 

A veteran waves to spectators during the Veterans Day parade in New York City on Nov. 11, 2015. (Benjamin Chasteen/Epoch Times)
A veteran waves to spectators during the Veterans Day parade in New York City on Nov. 11, 2015. (Benjamin Chasteen/Epoch Times)

 

Relatives of Samer Huhu, who was killed in a twin bombing attack, mourn during his funeral Beirut on Nov. 13, 2015. Lebanon mourned 44 people killed in south Beirut in a twin bombing claimed by ISIS in which over 230 people were wounded. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)
Relatives of Samer Huhu, who was killed in a twin bombing attack, mourn during his funeral Beirut on Nov. 13, 2015. Lebanon mourned 44 people killed in south Beirut in a twin bombing claimed by ISIS in which over 230 people were wounded. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)

 

A woman is comforted by friends as she mourns next to Le Petit Cambodge on Nov. 14, 2015, the day after the Cambodian restaurant was hit as one of the targets of ISIS terrorists. The attacks, which left 130 people dead, shook France and the rest of the world and led to an increased determination by governments to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. (Antoine Antoniol/Getty Images)
A woman is comforted by friends as she mourns next to Le Petit Cambodge on Nov. 14, 2015, the day after the Cambodian restaurant was hit as one of the targets of ISIS terrorists. The attacks, which left 130 people dead, shook France and the rest of the world and led to an increased determination by governments to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. (Antoine Antoniol/Getty Images)

 

A bird flies in front of the Eiffel Tower on Nov. 15, 2015, two days after a series of attacks by ISIS terrorists in Paris. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
A bird flies in front of the Eiffel Tower on Nov. 15, 2015, two days after a series of attacks by ISIS terrorists in Paris. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

December

Delphine Qasu (R), 18, a Yazidi refugee from Sinjar, Iraq, is comforted by her brother Dilshad, 17, while crying after talking about their journey to reach Germany. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Delphine Qasu (R), 18, a Yazidi refugee from Sinjar, Iraq, is comforted by her brother Dilshad, 17, while crying after talking about their journey to reach Germany. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

 

Miss World Canada Anastasia Lin at an event in her honor at the Spoke Club in Toronto on Dec. 15, 2015. An outspoken critic of human rights abuses in China, Lin was barred from entering China to take part in this year's pageant in the southern island province of Hainan. (Matthew Little/Epoch Times)
Miss World Canada Anastasia Lin at an event in her honor at the Spoke Club in Toronto on Dec. 15, 2015. An outspoken critic of human rights abuses in China, Lin was barred from entering China to take part in this year's pageant in the southern island province of Hainan. (Matthew Little/Epoch Times)

 

People look at the devastation caused by fire that broke out in the slums of Mumbai, India, on Dec. 7, 2015. Hundreds of homes were reportedly destroyed as fire tenders labored to reach the source in the heavily congested area. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
People look at the devastation caused by fire that broke out in the slums of Mumbai, India, on Dec. 7, 2015. Hundreds of homes were reportedly destroyed as fire tenders labored to reach the source in the heavily congested area. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

 

Ryan Lemm, 4, the son of New York Police Department (NYPD) Detective and Air National Guard Sergeant Joseph Lemm, salutes while his father's casket is brought out of St. Patrick's Cathedral after his father's funeral service in New York on Dec. 30. Lemm was killed in Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2015. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Ryan Lemm, 4, the son of New York Police Department (NYPD) Detective and Air National Guard Sergeant Joseph Lemm, salutes while his father's casket is brought out of St. Patrick's Cathedral after his father's funeral service in New York on Dec. 30. Lemm was killed in Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2015. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

 

'Galejadors' gather in the forest as they have breakfast during 'La Festa del Pi' (The Festival of the Pine) in the village of Centelles in Barcelona, Spain, on Dec. 30, 2015. (David Ramos/Getty Images)
'Galejadors' gather in the forest as they have breakfast during 'La Festa del Pi' (The Festival of the Pine) in the village of Centelles in Barcelona, Spain, on Dec. 30, 2015. (David Ramos/Getty Images)