2015 was definitely a year of lots of emotion, loss, and movement. And as it comes to an end, I thought it would be nice to see a flashback to some of the most powerful photos of the year. In no particular order, here are some of the most moving, sorrowful, and beautiful photos of 2015.
Moments before a paramilitary police officer carried the lifeless body of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi from the seashore, near a beach resort in Bodrum, Turkey, early on Sept. 2. After boats carrying refugees to Kos capsized, several migrants died while others are still reported missing.
PC: AP
This shows the damage in Khanigaun, Nepal after a 7.9 earthquake hit Kathmandu on April 25. It was followed by several aftershocks that caused avalanches on Mt. Everest that buried mountain climbers in their base camps and destroyed many temples, houses, and buildings in the capital, leaving over 7,000 people dead and many more trapped under the debris.
PC:David Ramos / Getty Images
President Obama hugs Vice President Joe Biden during the funeral services for Biden’s son, Beau Biden, at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington, Delaware on June 6th.
PC:Yuri Gripas / AP
Image of the aftermath of the derailed Amtrak train in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 13. Emergency workers look through twisted metal and debris from the wreck which killed eight people and left several others badly injured.
PC: Lucas Jackson / Reuters
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau helps a young Syrian refugee try on a winter coat after she arrived with her family from Beirut in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on December 11.
PC:Mark Blinch / Reuters
Protesters call attention to the poaching of a 13-yaer-old lion called Cecil the lion, in the parking lot of Dr. Walter Palmer’s River Bluff Dental Clinic in Bloomington, Minnesota. Palmer paid over $50,000 for the hunt in Zimbabwe. According to reports, Cecil was lured out of a national park and killed by Palmer.
PC:Adam Bettcher / Getty Images
During Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, 4-year-old Christian Jacobs of Hertford, North Carolina, lies on the grave of his father, Christopher James Jacob.
PC:Joshua Roberts / Reuters
NASA scientists revealed the first evidence that water may flow on the surface of Mars during the planet’s summer months. The picture shows what appears to be 100-meter-long streaks on the surface of Mars, seeming to have been formed by flowing water.
PC:Nasa / Reuters
A Palestinian woman paints a mural that shows a masked Palestinian holding a knife, in support of Palestinians committing stabbing attacks against Israelis after Israeli attacks on Palestinians.
PC:Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters
Palestinians fight an Israeli soldier to free a Palestinian boy during clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters on Aug. 28.
PC:Abbas Momani / AFP / Getty Images
A Palestinian boy sleeps on a mattress inside the remains of his family’s house which was destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war in 2014.
PC:Suhaib Salem / Reuters12.
A woman has a peace sign combined with the Eiffel Tower painted on her face as she arrives for a minute of silence for the victims of the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris.
PC: Markus Schreiber / AP
WDBJ-TV7 meteorologist, Leo Hirsbrunner, wipes his eyes during the early morning newscast as anchors Kimberly McBroom and Steve Grant deliver the news of the death of reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward, who were killed during a live broadcast while on assignment in Moneta, Virginia.
PC: Steve Helber / AP