The Royal Meteorological Society has revealed the winners of this year’s Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year competition! Wang Xin won the overall prize with an image of several red lightning sprites during a thunderstorm in Shanghai. The Young Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year award was won by Angelina Widmann with an image of rain during an outdoor show of Madame Butterfly in Bregenz, Austria.
Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year 2024
Wang Xin, Goblins dancing in the dark night
‘Photographer Wang Xin had to be extremely patient to capture this magnificent example of red lightning in Shanghai’s Chongming district. Much like the ethereal, fairy-tale spirits of folklore, red spirits are particularly difficult to see or photograph. The jury said yes rare to see an image with this extension and number of sprites. As numerous thunderstorms raged around Shanghai, Xin traveled to the Chongming district and took a trial-and-error approach, setting up the camera and waiting.
After a few hours, a “faint red figure” flashed in Xin’s eyes, and this extraordinary image was captured. The elusive sprites only last a few milliseconds, so Xin used a four-second exposure to make this photo. Spirits form due to electrical discharges, but unlike normal lightning, they are found well above cumulonimbus clouds, about 50 miles (80 km) above the ground, in a layer of the atmosphere known as the mesosphere. Due to their fleeting nature, sprites are not yet well understood, but they have been observed to appear after a strong positive lightning strike between the cloud and the ground. The red color comes from changes in the electron energy of nitrogen atoms high in the atmosphere.’
From the Royal Meteorological Society: The Royal Meteorological Society has announced the winners of this year’s Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year competition.
From a shortlist of 25 images received from entries from 84 countries, the jury winners were chosen by an international jury of experts in the fields of meteorology, photography and journalism, including members of the ITV Weather team. Additionally, the public voted for their favorite on the Royal Meteorological Society website.
The winner of the Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year 2024 award is Wang Xin from Shanghai, China, with the photo ‘Sprites Dancing in the Dark Night’. As numerous thunderstorms raged around Shanghai, Xin went to Chongming District and after a few hours, a “faint red figure” flashed in their eyes and this extraordinary image was captured. The judges commented that it is rare to see an image with this extent and number of sprites. Wang Xin wins a cash prize of £5,000.
The winner of the Standard Chartered Smartphone Weather Photographer of the Year award is Nur Syaireen Natasya Binti Azaharin from Selangor, Malaysia, who set out with the expectation of catching the sunrise but was instead rewarded with this glorious view of smoking volcanoes in East Java, Indonesia.
The jury praised the finesse of the shot, appreciating the combination of the curves of the landscape and the curves of the tree in the foreground with the bowl of clouds and the blue sky above. Nur Syaireen Natasya Binti Azaharin wins a cash prize of £2500.
The title of Standard Chartered Young Weather Photographer of the Year goes to Angelina Widmann of Bregenz, Austria, whose winning photo “Rain Aria” captured this stunning shot during an outdoor Madame Butterfly show on the eastern shore of Bodensee (also known as Lake Constance) in Bregenz, Austria. Angelina’s photo wins a cash prize of £750, plus a double-page spread in Week Junior Science+Nature magazine and a year’s subscription to the magazine.
Standard Chartered Climate Award
New to this year’s competition is the Standard Chartered Climate Award, created to highlight the connection between weather patterns and the wider impacts of climate change, illustrating how these global changes affect our daily lives.
The winner of the first Standard Chartered Climate Award is Gerson Turelly of Brazil, for the photograph ‘Rowing’. This compelling image shows downtown Porto Alegre, Brazil, during the devastating Rio Grande do Sul floods in the spring of 2024. In this image, a street has transformed into a stream along which a young man paddles his kayak. Gerson notes that the kayaker was headed to the hardest-hit areas to help rescue stranded people.
The photo’s composition and lighting were praised by the jury, as was the powerful combination of weather and climate impacts depicted in the scene. The judges also commented on how the image shows “past, present and future”; Floods have always been something we have to deal with and adapt to, however, as climate change increases the intensity of heavy rainfall, flooding will become even more common.
Gerson wins a cash prize of £1000.
Also winning public favorite is Gerson Turelly of Brazil, for ‘Rowing’ – a photograph popular with both judges and audiences.
The 2024 competition saw an increase in entries raising awareness of the impact of climate change on our weather patterns around the world and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and bushfires. Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world today, and its impact on the environment and human health significantly affects sustainable economic growth and the future of society. Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year, hosted by the Royal Meteorological Society, continues to provide ongoing commentary on the fragility and beauty of the planet.
Professor Liz Bentley, Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, commented:
“I am very pleased with the variety and quality of this year’s winning photographs which show a real window into the world’s weather and climate, both in its regional differences and its interconnectivity. From African dust hitting Athens to calm weather on volcanoes, from a sudden local downpour to increased heavy rainfall and flooding around the world, we are reminded that climate change is affecting weather patterns everywhere and that the global community has need to come together to act now and curb any further rise in temperature.”
Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer at Standard Chartered, commented:
“The winning images from this year’s competition tell a powerful story about our planet and the extraordinary force of extreme weather events. Many of the images draw urgent attention to the impact of climate change on biodiverse communities and habitats around the world. This is especially true for the winner of our first Climate Award, Gerson Turelly, with an image of the devastating flood in Porto Alegre, Brazil. As the title sponsor of the Weather Photographer competition, we hope to further raise awareness of the threat posed by rising temperatures and associated extreme weather events. Congratulations to all the winners and runners-up, and thank you to everyone who participated.”
View the Winners Gallery on the Royal Meteorological Society website.
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