2022 is spending its final days in our world. It was a year full of political shifts and economic concerns around the world. From the very north to the furthest south, every area on Earth was impacted by the biggest world headline for the year which is climate change. In addition, the world returned to face the ghosts of inflation once again. Moreover, Coronavirus gave the world its sister mutation, Omicron. On the other hand, Monkeypox rose to send the people once again fears of another pandemic.
As 2022 is approaching its end, SEE presents a list of the top global events that shaped the year.
Russian- Ukrainian War
On February 24, the Russian military operation in Ukraine started as Russia set different attacks against Ukraine, and crossed the borders.
The war in Ukraine impacted different rifts between Europe and Russia which threatened Europe’s energy resources and the majority of European countries depend on Russian gas.
In the same context, the Russian invasion motivated defence allies like NATO to spend more on defence systems, and energy for securing the needs of their people ahead of winter.
Moreover, several countries started to apply for several blocs for concerns over security and sovereignty for example Finland and Sweden submitted their portfolios for EU memberships.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine also left behind another unsolved refugees crises.
The Rise of Monkeypox & Omicron
By the beginning of 2022, cases of Monkeypox started to flow in different countries around the world, reaching 110 countries by May.
WHO didn’t classify the virus as a pandemic, and named it as moderate. WHO recorded 82,828 confirmed cases of the virus until December 15.
On the other hand, a new mutation of Coronavirus, Omicron, swept the world causing the fear of another pandemic. However, Coronavirus vaccine booster shots controlled its emergence of it.
Severe Climate Change Impacts & COP 27
In 2022, the world suffered from the fierce impacts of climate change. Europe saw huge heatwaves that caused drought and wildfires.
One of the top events of climate change was the floods in Pakistan that left behind hundreds of victims.
Heatwaves also caused damage to crops and grains that negatively impacted the prices of food around the world.
On the other hand, Egypt hosted COP 27 when important memorandums were signed including a fund for loss and waste.
Iran Protests
Protests have been raging across Iran since September 16 after forces killed Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, in custody for not wearing her hijab properly. Iranians took streets for calling for women’s rights and freedom. Since then, Iranian forces have killed at least 448 people, according to Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights.
Inflation Strikes Once Again
2022 saw inflation rise around the world. The price spikes were driven by challenges of demand and supply as the grains and crops supplies were disturbed due to the stopping of Ukrainian goods exportation after the war.
In addition, the world still suffered from the impacts of COVID-19 spending burdens.
Different countries around the world were forced to change the rates of interest such as the US and Europe which caused major shifts in the prices of the US dollar, gold, metals, and oil.
Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee & Death
There is no doubt that Queen Elizabeth II was one of the top trending topics of 2022. In July, more than a half million people camped in the street to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee to be the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the UK.
Two months after the platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth passed away at the age of 96, declaring King Charles III as the new UK king.
Coronavirus Eases
In September, the head of the World Health Organization declared that the end of the pandemic is “in sight.” Different countries started to abandon the lockdowns, masks, medical measures, and travel. They were motivated by the success of vaccines and treatments in lowering the chances of dying from COVID.
UK Political Unrest
The political scene in the UK was tragic this year as Boris Johnson was forced to resign after a series of scandals hit his run as prime minister. Therefore, the Tory had to set elections to choose a new leader.
Lez Truss won the elections and was named the new prime minister. However, she resigned after six weeks in office to be the shortest reigning prime minister in the history of the UK due to escalations about budget and inflation.
Shortly, other elections took place to be ended with Rishi Sunak's victory as the new UK Prime Minister to be the first one who holds this position with Indian origins.
World Population Surpasses 8 Billion
The world reached its first landmark of 1 billion people in 1803. After 200 years, the world surpassed 8 billion people.
Elon Musk & Twitter Deal
Elon Musk’s deal to purchase the world’s top social media platform, Twitter, was a trending topic through 2022. Musk set huge arguments with Twitter over spam accounts, bots, and freedom of speech.
This chaos was followed by Musk surrendering the deal, before finalizing it.
Musk started to issue controversial decisions such as getting former US Champion Donald Trump’s account back, and adding fees for authorized accounts.
Latin America Directs to Left
In 2022, more Leftists take the power in Latin American countries such as Xiomara Castro who was sworn in as president of Honduras, former rebel fighter Gustavo Petro became Colombia’s first leftist president, and former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to the office after Jair Bolsonaro.
Moreover, the concept of political polarization deepened across the region as the Peruvian Congress impeached President Castillo and named Dina Boluarte as the new president.
Argentina Crowned as World Champions
This could be the most recent trending global event in 2022. Argentina, finally, captured the FIFA World Cup once again after more than 20 years. The whole world was supporting Messi in achieving his most-waited milestone in his final World Cup run.
After the victory of Argentina, more than 25 million messages were sent on WhatsApp, in addition, Google recorded the top traffic in its history during the event.
In Argentina, more than four million people gathered in the streets to celebrate the huge win.
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