World Press Photo: César Rodríguez

Mexican photographer César Rodríguez won a 2026 World Press Photo award for a long-term project on climate damage across Mexico. (worldpressphoto.org) World Press Photo announced its 2026 contest winners on April 9, selecting 42 regional winners from 57,376 photographs submitted by 3,747 photographers in 141 countries. Rodríguez’s project, “Mexico, A Changing Climate,” won in the North and Central America region in the Long-Term Projects category. (worldpressphoto.org) The project centers on places already hit by erosion, drought, water shortages and displacement. World Press Photo says one image shows a man standing on the remains of a breakwater in Sánchez Magallanes, Tabasco, where coastal erosion has consumed more than 500 meters of land since 2005. (worldpressphoto.org) Rodríguez’s work follows the effects of climate change from Tabasco’s coast to Monterrey and the State of Mexico. The foundation says sea levels in Tabasco are rising three times faster than the global average, while renewable water availability in Monterrey and the State of Mexico has fallen 81 percent since 1950. (worldpressphoto.org) The award puts a Mexican climate story inside one of photojournalism’s biggest annual contests. World Press Photo says the 2026 winners will be shown in a traveling exhibition in more than 60 locations worldwide. (worldpressphoto.org) The foundation’s jury said Rodríguez’s pictures show “the compounded impacts of environmental pressures, political decisions, and a lack of social support.” It said the project focuses on fishing communities and vulnerable urban populations as climate change reshapes daily life and local culture. (worldpressphoto.org) Rodríguez is from Tepic, Nayarit, and is based in Xalisco, according to World Press Photo. The organization says his work has focused on migration, human rights and climate change, and has appeared in outlets including Time, National Geographic and The New York Times. (worldpressphoto.org) The 2026 contest is the 69th edition of World Press Photo, and all regional winners remain eligible for the top overall prize. The World Press Photo of the Year and two finalists are scheduled to be announced on April 23, 2026, in Amsterdam. (worldpressphoto.org)