What exactly happened to the world in 2020?

With 2020 now over, many have let out a sigh of relief after months of lockdowns and shocking disasters.

Below we have compiled some of 2020’s wildest events that happened throughout 2020, with some that you may have forgotten.

The Australian Bushfires:

Just over 12 months ago, the world was celebrating the new year, but while the rest of the world was celebrating, Australia was facing its most devastating wildfire season, which took the lives of 445 people and over 3 billion animals.

In total, the total amount of burned areas was approximately 18.6 million hectares, which is a larger landmass than in some countries.

By the time Australia’s bushfire season had ended, over 3,500 homes had been destroyed, and approximately 103 billion dollars of damage had been caused.

Iran–U.S. Tensions:

On 3 January 2020, the United States assassinated Iranian major general Qasem Soleiman via a drone strike while he was reportedly on his way to visit Prime Minister of Iraq, Adil Abdul-Mahdi.

Soleiman commanded Iran’s Quds Forced and was a top military strategist. According to some, Soleiman was the second most powerful individual in Iran.

Following the drone strike, Iraq’s military fired two rockets at U.S. military bases located in the country. While nobody was killed during the missile strike, tensions greatly escalated between the United States and Iraq, causing many to fear that war between the countries may erupt.

COVID-19:

While many shocking events shocked the world in 2020, nobody can doubt COVID-19 disrupted the world the most.

The novel coronavirus was first discovered in Wuhan, Hubei, China, on Dec. 31, 2019, and was declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020. Global COVID-19 cases currently stand at 91.5 million, with deaths currently standing at 1.9 million across 218 countries and territories.

Following the implementation of stringent lockdowns across the world, many businesses were forced to close, which in turn put many out of jobs.

Working From Home:

Following lockdowns across the world, many were forced to work from home.

While working from home has helped many become much more productive, many have struggled to separate work and home life, forcing many people’s mental health to take a decline.

Video calls have become a part of everyday life over the past year, with schools beginning to operate online and work meetings being held online.

When Oil Prices Went Negative For The First Time In History:

History was made on April 20, after oil prices dropped below zero for the first time after the demand for crude oil dropped, and storage became scarce.

The same day, West Texas Intermediate future contract’s sat at a shocking -$40.32/barrel, marking a downfall of 310.45%.