2020 Through Slides

The year 2020 has been a roller coaster ride for all of us. Looking back, we feel lucky that we made it till the end. So many families lost their loved ones due to the disasters around the world, most importantly the novel coronavirus pandemic.

2020 has been a year that will be remembered for decades to come. Apart from Covid 19 pandemic, this year saw many other happenings that will have a long-lasting impact on the economy and sociopolitical map of the world.

Let’s have a look at all the major events, good or bad, that took place in 2020 and bid adieu to it.

  • Jakarta Floods

The year started with a gloomy day as floods swept the metropolitan area of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Due to the overnight pouring of rain up to 400mm, the rivers of Ciliwung and Cisadane started overflowing. As reported on 6 January 2020, the flash flood caused the death of 66 civilians.

  • The Taal volcano in the Philippines

This is the second most active volcano in the Philippines. On 12th January 2020, the eruption of the Taal volcano took place which was a phreatomagmatic eruption. The eruption led to spreading ashes in the region of Calabarzon, Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Ilocos region. The ashes were so dense that it resulted in the suspension of school classes and also the cancelation of flights.

  • Prince Harry and Megan Markle quit the royal family

After mid-January 2020, news broke out in the media channels that Prince Harry and Megan Markle decided to quit the royal family. They will no longer be using the royal highness title and won’t receive any sort of public fund for their work. They came to an agreement with the royal family and their new titles became Duke and Duchess.

  • Coronavirus outbreak

This is the biggest news of 2020 that shook the entire world within a few days. The outbreak of coronavirus has taken so many lives, some died due to the infection and some died out of starvation. Every nation went through a very difficult social and economic situation in the past 7-8 months. It took more than 700,000 innocent lives spreading across the world.

  • Lockdown followed by the global pandemic

After WHO declared the outbreak of the global pandemic, curfews, and lockdown bogged down on the civilians of every nation. We needed to stay mentally very strong to survive through the biggest crisis of our life. United under the same roof, everyone started fighting the same enemy, that is, coronavirus.

  • Kobe Bryant’s death

It was a huge tragedy as Kobe Bryant, the famous American basketball player, and his daughter died in a helicopter crash on 26th January 2020. Investigations in the matter released some information that the pilot faced some trouble due to weather conditions. He informed the air traffic control that he was attending while he was actually descending.

  • Stock market crash 2020

The stock market crash of 2020 is often referred to as the coronavirus crash. The global stock started falling from 20th February and it ended earlier in April. This stock market crash recorded the fastest fall in global stock in financial history after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The outbreak of pandemic is the sole reason behind the economy going downhill for every nation.

  • Impeachment of President Donald Trump

Donald Trump faced the impeachment trial on accusations of Ukraine’s order for the prosecution of Joe Biden and Hunter, the former Vice Presidents. Trump faced a court trial in January and on 5th February the Senate acquitted him. The fight started late in December 2020 when articles were already out about impeachment of charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

  • Parasite sweeps the Oscar

This was for the first time that a non-English film won the Best Movie award. Bong Joon Ho directed this darkly comic satire, a perfect example of an utterly hyperproof film. The film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film.

  • Australian Bushfires

The Australian bushfires of the season 2019-2020 experienced one of the most destructive wildfires in the world. At the beginning of 2020, more than 18 million hectares of land were burnt. It broke a record of burning lands in the past 25 years. Due to the smoke inhalation, 34 direct deaths were caused.

  • Kim Jong Un death rumors

In early April, news spread about the death of Kim Jong Un. His absence from the major events led to the spread of such rumors. Curiosity grew among people in North Korea when Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader didn’t attend events to commemorate his grandfather. Some new channels said that he was seriously ill while the other suspected death. But, after almost three weeks he reappeared in front of the media in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

  • Black Lives Matter

The Black Lives Matter protest started shortly after the death of African-American civilian George Floyd. He was killed during a police arrest and thus the social movement started to protest against police brutality and institutionalized racism. The protest was supported by many nations apart from Australia, the place of the event. More protest and violent conflict broke out in August when Jacob Balke, 29, was shot and crippled by Wisconsin Kenosha.

  • The Visakhapatnam gas leak

On May 7, a gas leak was spotted in the LG Polymers plant in the town of Visakhapatnam, India. The gas leak killed 12 innocent citizens and affected more than hundreds in the city. After the massive brutal incident, investigations showed that the plant was operating against environmental rules for the past 20 years.

  • Cyclone Amphan in Eastern India

It was still early 2020 when cyclone Amphan hit Eastern India and some parts of Bangladesh. The cyclone left many casualties killing at least 100 people in India, left more injured. Amidst the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the cyclone left eastern India in a more vulnerable position with no roof overhead for many villagers and stocked food taken by the disaster. It was a Category 5 hurricane that lasted for five days.

  • The Locust Attacks

Before people started recovering from the Ampha loss, desert locusts came to India via Rajasthan. Soon they swarmed fields and caused crop infestations causing big havoc in 18 different regions of India. The areas that were largely affected are Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Maharashtra.

  • LGBTQ Rights

It turned out to be a good year for the LGBTQ community as the colorful rainbow flag flew with pride on various occasions around the world. The several fights and struggles showed a streak of light as many countries including Taiwan and Costa Rica approved gay marriages this year.

  • Twitter hack

In July 2020, it was reported that around 130 high-profile Twitter accounts were compromised by some outside group of hackers to promote a bitcoin scam. The preparators had access to the tools of Twitter via social engineering. On 31st July 2020, three individuals were arrested. This year Twitter became the center of attraction for many other events such as the U.S. presidential election and showing Leh is a part of China during a live event on the Twitter map.

  • Beirut explosion

After the gas leak in India, another accident took place in Beirut Harbor taking a minimum of 190 lives and left thousands of injured victims. A huge quantity of ammonium nitrate caused a massive explosion that shook the entire nation of Lebanon.

  • Chadwick Boseman’s death

It seemed like a time of endless mourning as on 28th August, Chadwick Boseman the famous Black Panther star passed away. He was suffering from colon cancer for the past four years. Millions of hearts shattered by this news as he was a superhero for all the marvel fans.

  • West Coast wildfires

After the Australian bushfires, we witnessed several images of wildfires burning in the West. The most affected region was California as the dry winds and the high temperature fueled the flames for weeks. More than 4 million acres of land burned in California.

  • The new U.S. president-elect 

Joe Biden became the 46th U.S. president-elect giving a huge boost for this home country. He defeated former President Donald Trump after a dramatic battle in the history of American elections. It was a hallmark of a grand democracy that the U.S. citizens are looking ahead in the future.

  • Kamala Harris becomes the new U.S. vice president-elect 

History recorded as Kamala Harris became the first black and Asian woman to be nominated for the vice-presidential position. This was a huge boost for the women out there who wanted to put up a battle and conquer their position to the top.

  • Death of Diego Maradona

A huge loss in the world of sports as the famous football player Diego Armando Maradona passed away on 25th November 2020. He was an Argentine football player who won the FIFA player of the 20th-century award jointly.

  • The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine

After all the loss we have faced this year, 2020 is finally ending on a good note as Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot was approved by the US Food and Drug Authority. On 18th December 2020, the FDA also approved the inoculation produced by Moderna. Many countries have already started the vaccination program.

We hope that 2021 will be a great year without any scare of Covid 19 and life comes back to normal like it was before 2020.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *