2020 was a mess, and looking back, it seems as though wave after wave, the world was hit with traumatic and catastrophic events. Let’s take a look at what happened this year:
JANUARY:
One lightning strike caused a megafire that spread throughout Australia and was the most disastrous fire yet for the country.
A US airstrike killed Qasem Soleimani, a major general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Tension between the U.S and Iran grew tremendously. What also grew substantially? A World War III trend on TikTok, jokes that were layered with uncertainty.
A tragic helicopter crash led to the death of the professional shooting guard, and much loved player, Kobe Bryant, killing him and his daughter Gianna.
FEBRUARY:
Donald J. Trump was acquitted from his Senate trial of impeachment, blocking the threat of the end of his presidency.
Parasite, the first non-English-language film to win a Best Picture Oscar, overshot the mark, and took home four Oscars.
Harvey Weinstein, after six women testified that he sexually assaulted them, was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
MARCH:
COVID-19 Pandemic hits the U.S., and Americans are forced under lockdown.
APRIL:
A fire in a four-story warehouse kills 30 construction workers in South Korea.
Cyclone Harold hits the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga.
Historic job losses, also known as the Coronavirus Recession, hit globally. A severe economic downturn causes some countries to go into a depression.
MAY:
The death of George Floyd, a 46 year old black man killed with a policeman’s knee on his neck, sparked outrage against police brutality across the country. Police reform becomes a nationwide discussion.
Asian giant hornets, the ‘murder hornets’, surface in the U.S
Costa Rica becomes the first country in Central America to legalize same-sex marriage.
JUNE:
Jefferson Davis and Christopher Columbus statues are taken down due to Black Lives Matter protests.
New York City begins Stage 2 of re-opening.
JULY:
Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil, announces he is COVID-19 positive.
US cases soar to 4 million, and the death toll rises to 143,000.
AUGUST:
An explosion that shook Beirut, Lebanon, leaves 78 people dead and 4,000 people injured.
California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado suffer an abundance of wildfires.
SEPTEMBER:
BTS becomes the first all-Korean pop group to reach the Billboard 100.
Donald J. Trump visits the city of Kenosha, where Jacob Blake was shot, to offer support to law enforcement personnel.
Robert Pattinson tests positive for COVID-19 during his filming of Batman.
OCTOBER:
Donald J. Trump and first lady Melania Trump test positive for COVID-19.
Colombia reaches 1 million COVID-19 cases.
NOVEMBER:
Actor Johnny Depp loses a libel case against the UK newspaper, ‘The Sun’ regarding abuse allegations.
Former Vice President Joseph Biden is announced winner of the U.S. Presidential Election, defeating Donald J. Trump.
Kamala Harris became the first woman, and first African-American and Asian-American to be elected vice president.
DECEMBER:
Elliot Page comes out as transgender through social media.
Donald Trump continues to claim election fraud, though no evidence supports it.
UK begins administration of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. FDA.
Despite everything that plagued the year 2020, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Let us wish that the new year of 2021 brings us better luck!
