Photos of the Week: Icy Hearts, Warm Beach, Raging Fire
Joseph Prezioso / AFP / Getty
A reveler dressed as Frankenstein’s monster plunges into the ocean during a snow storm on January 1, 2026, in Boston. The polar plunge on New Year’s Day dates back more than 100 years in the city, but many people, mainly members of the L Street Brownies, take daily swims 365 days a year in the ocean.
R.Satish BABU / AFP / Getty
An artist poses for a photograph before performing at the Veethi Virudhu Vizha festival, showcasing traditional Indian art forms, in Chennai, on January 4, 2026.
Ivan Valencia / AP
Revelers take part in the Black and White Carnival in Pasto, Colombia, on January 6, 2026.
Stephen Lam / San Francisco Chronicle / Getty
People paddle along a flooded Mill Valley–Sausalito Path during king tide in Mill Valley, California, on January 3, 2026.
VCG / Getty
A humanoid robot dressed in a traffic police uniform hit the streets on January 8, 2026, in Wuhu, Anhui province, China. The robotic officer directed traffic, detected violations, and gave polite voice reminders.
VCG / Getty
Elderly people interact with a robot at a nursing home on January 7, 2026, in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, China.
He Penglei / China News Service / VCG / Getty
An art installation features a bus bursting through a wall, seen at Meixin Red Wine Town in Chongqing, China, on January 6, 2026.
Eugene Hoshiko / AP
Members of a traditional firefighting preservation group perform ladder stunts during the annual New Year’s Fire Brigade Review on January 6, 2026, in Tokyo.
Martin Levicoy / AFP / Getty
A wildfire burns through a forest on Mount Pirque at El Hoyo, in the Patagonian region of Chubut province, Argentina, on January 7, 2026.
AFP / Getty
An image captured from video shows smoke rising above Fort Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, after a series of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026. The United States military was behind a series of strikes against the Venezuelan capital, leading to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Adam Gray / Reuters
In New York City, law-enforcement officials move Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, out of a helicopter, headed for the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan for an initial appearance to face U.S. federal charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering, and others, on January 5, 2026.
Ng Han Guan / AP
A full moon rises over ice structures at the annual Ice and Snow Festival held in Harbin in China’s Heilongjiang province, on January 4, 2026.
Thibault Camus / AP
A racer rides on a path during the second stage of the Dakar Rally between Yanbu and Alula, Saudi Arabia, on January 5, 2026.
Ethan Swope / AP
Cars drive on Highway 101, flooded by a king tide on January 3, 2026, near Corte Madera in Marin County, California.
Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters
Japan’s Ren Nikaido celebrates with teammates after winning the men’s individual ski-jumping event during the Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck, Austria, on January 4, 2026.
Alain Jocard / AFP / Getty
A pony stands in a field in Chisseaux, near Tours, France, following a fresh snowfall on January 7, 2026.
Leon Neal / Getty
Rachel Melvin, a zookeeper, poses with a domestic Bactrian camel during an event to promote the annual stocktake at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, in Dunstable, England, on January 8, 2026.
Christopher Furlong / Getty
The cold-water swimmer Autumn Lea takes a freezing dip at sunset in the waters of Pickmere Lake on January 5, 2026, in Knutsford, England.
Marton Monus / Reuters
A drone view shows a frozen lake near Budapest, Hungary, on January 7, 2026.
Toby Melville / Reuters
Skaters leave tracks in the ice as they cross the frozen flooded plain of Port Meadow, in Oxford, England, on January 7, 2026.
Bernat Armangue / AP
A fire eater performs during the traditional Cabalgata de Reyes parade in Madrid, on January 5, 2026, as part of the festivities marking the Catholic feast of Epiphany.
Tiksa Negeri / Reuters
Girls dressed in traditional Oromo Karrayyu costumes attend the naming ceremony of the new Oromo Karrayyu traditional leader Abbaa Gadaa in Fentale, Oromia region, Ethiopia, on January 4, 2026.
Ina Fassbender / AFP / Getty
A view of the architectural monument Alter Flecken, made up of 80 half-timbered houses in the old town of Freudenberg, Germany, seen on a winter’s night, January 7, 2026
Chaideer Mahyuddin / AFP / Getty
This aerial picture shows a man and a child using cables to cross a river in the aftermath of flash floods that destroyed adjacent villages in Ketol, Indonesia’s Aceh highland province, on January 6, 2026.
Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP / Getty
A migrant plays with a little girl aboard the rescue ship Ocean Viking, operated by the NGO SOS Méditerranée, as they sail to a designated port of disembarkation in Savona, Italy, on January 3, 2026. Thirty-three migrants were rescued by crew members of the ship.
Bruce Kluckhohn / AP
People gather for a vigil after an ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good earlier in the day, January 7, 2026, in Minneapolis.
Connie France / AFP / Getty
An aerial view of Yuyos beach in Lima, Peru, seen on January 4, 2026
VCG / Getty
A view of a twin heart-shaped “icefall” installation, adorned with roses, at the 27th Harbin Ice and Snow World on January 2, 2026, in Heilongjiang province, China