As 2015 comes to a close, revisiting the year becomes relevant, but we have tried to look back in the past year slightly through a different view – pictures taken throughout the world from the sky.

The pictures range from bluish beaches in China to drought-prone areas of Australia. Like every year, it’s a mix of happiness, sorrow, disaster and hope.

People cool off at a water park, in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China August 1, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

Rice plants in the shape of China are seen in a paddy field in Zhonghong village, on the outskirts of Shanghai, China, October 13, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

An aerial picture of the site of explosions at a large industrial site in Binhai new district, Tianjin, China, August 16, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

A boat is seen on the mouth of Rio Doce (Doce River), which was flooded with mud after a dam owned by Vale SA and BHP Billiton Ltd burst, as the river joins the sea on the coast of Espirito Santo in Regencia Village, Brazil, November 22, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

Salt pans and small dams are seen in drought-affected farming areas located on the outskirts of Perth, Australia March 8, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

Tibetan prayer flags flutter above the Larung valley and its Larung Wuming Buddhist Institute, in remote Sertar county, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, China October 30, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

People travel along a road inside the Danxia National Geological Park, in Zhangye, Gansu province, China, July 5, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

Smoke and lava spews from the Villarrica volcano, south of Santiago, Chile March 3, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

Vehicles are stuck in a traffic jam near a toll station as people return home at the end of a week-long national day holiday, in Beijing, China, October 6, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

A aerial view shows a damaged mosque and surrounding buildings in the Al-Maysar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria April 23, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

A reservoir is seen in the drought-affected western region of New South Wales, Australia March 19, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

Flood-affected people gesture to an Indian coast guard helicopter for relief materials in Chennai, India, December 6, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

A narrow slot canyon is seen from the air at Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, May 26, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

Houses damaged by an earthquake are seen in Nuwakot, Nepal, May 1, 2015 | Source: Reuters

 

Feature image source: Reuters