As the Thomas Fire blazed in California, it filled the sky with so much smoke that the sun peeking through took on an orange hue.
A five-year drought in Brazil left cracked ground where water used to fill the Boqueirao reservoir in Paraiba state.
This was just one of at least 41 humpback whales to wash ashore dead on the Eastern Seaboard of the US in an "unusual mortality event" that stretched back to 2016.
Golfers in Washington State played on as one of many wildfires raged in the west.
In India, Delhi's sky was so full of toxic smog that the government described it as like a gas chamber.
An eruption of the Mount Agung volcano in Bali forced more than 100,000 to evacuate their homes.
The remnants of Hurricane Ophelia carried Saharan dust all the way to London, giving the sky an apocalyptic tone.
Mount Etna joined the Bali volcano in erupting and spewing forth dangerous lava this year.
Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico and caused widespread blackouts. Many residents are still without power months later.
Biplab Hazra shocked the world by showing elephants being attacked by a mob in West Bengal, India. The image won the Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Photography contest.
Mexico City was rocked by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that flattened buildings and left rubble around the city.
Hurricane Harvey dumped unprecedented amounts of water on Houston, flooding whole communities.
The fires in California forced many to try to filter the air they breathe so as not to take in too much ash and soot.
