Greta Rybus, Shortlisted Photographer for the Climate Visuals Photography Award
WHAT IT SHOWS: “Everything has changed. Climate is also part of this change. Ice and water have become less safe to travel. That the weather conditions are getting more and more unstable in the winter. Suddenly it can be mild and the snow gets wet. Then, suddenly, it can be cold and freeze this wet snow to ice. So that the entire landscape is transformed into ice-like snow, which means that the reindeer is unable to dig down to the food under the snow.” – Ingor Ante Mahtte, Sami reindeer herder. Ingor Ante Mahtte and other reindeer herders have noticed major disruptions in patterns that they rely on to raise and graze their herds. While reindeer can withstand harsh winters, rising and varied temperatures in winter can cause melting and freezing cycles that make it impossible to reindeer to access plants and lichens below the ice, causing starvation.