2020 Headlines

Jared and Neeve

JANUARY

- United Kingdom formally withdraws from the European Union (Brexit).

The United Kingdom left the EU on the 31 January. This ends a 47-year saga of relations from when Edward Heath, leader of the Conservative Party signed the Treaty of Accession to join. There were four years of intense negotiations spanning three prime ministers, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. One of the major consequences of Brexit is the impact on trade. EU membership reduces trade costs and tariffs making it cheaper for the UK to consume goods and services and also allows businesses to export more. In terms of immigration, a significant topic during the referendum, a new system will be implemented. The system means that everyone who enters the UK will be subject to the UK’s immigration requirements. This contrasts with when the UK were in the EU and there was freedom of movement from countries in the EU to the UK.

FEBRUARY

More than 30 bushfires put out by heaviest rainfall for 30 years in New South Wales, Australia, helping end one of the worst bushfire seasons ever, 46 million acres burnt, over one billion animalskilled, 34 people dead.

After record breaking temperatures and severe drought in Australia, massive bushfires took hold in New South Wales and Victoria. At least 33 people were killed including four firefighters and over 11 million hectares of bush and forest were burned. Australians were hugely affected with the fires destroying over 2000 homes causing major relocation. Even after the majority of the fires were put out, the smoke became a major hazard meaning Canberra saw some of the worst smoke pollution with the air quality rate the third worst of all major global cities. The smoke didn’t stay in Australia and travelled nearly 7000 miles across the Pacific Ocean to South America. The smoke also creates its own climate in its area of effect creating clouds called pyrocumulonimbus which can lead to thunderstorms, lightning and downbursts.

MARCH

African American Breonna Taylor shot and killed by police officers executing a no-knock warrant on her flat with a battering ram in Louisville, Kentucky.

The death of Breonna Taylor sparked protests around the world to demand that the officers involved where criminally charged since they had not been previously. A combination of this killing as well as the George Floyd incident in May where shocking footage revealed the killing of an African American man by a policeman led to the worldwide knowledge and support of Black Lives Matter (BLM). Brett Hankinson, killer of Breonna Taylor, has since been charged with ‘wanton endangerment’ instead of murder whilst the other two officers have not been charged. This murder was the start of a huge change in societal understanding and learning about the prejudice towards black people in America and globally.

APRIL

New study shows western Antarctica once swampy with temperate forests 9383 million years ago during Cretaceous period, according to Alfred Wegener Institute.

90 million years ago, the South Pole had a much warmer climate than today at around 12 degrees Celsius. This is based on soil samples from the mid-Cretaceous period. It was established that there was no ice sheet and instead a swampy landscape where rainforests grew similar to the ones found in New Zealand. Subsequently, a frog fossil has been found in Antarctica further supporting the argument that it was previously a swamp. Scientists have found evidence of giant amphibians in Antarctica during the Triassic period, 200 million years ago. This more recent fossil shows that climate was more like that in the Andes, Chile because that is where the frog’s closest relatives live.

MAY

Greenhouse gas emissions dropped 17% worldwide in April 2020 when world was in lockdown, in study published in “Nature Climate Change”.

Covid-19 forced many countries to seal borders, scale back economic activity and go into strict lockdowns. During this period, there was evidence that daily global carbon dioxide emissions dropped 17% compared to 2019s daily averages. Making up 43% of the full decrease came from reduced traffic congestion on the roads as fewer buses, cars and trucks were travelling. This was a larger impact in the more developed countries since motor vehicles are much more common and used more often. Surprisingly, the decline in air travel only made of small portion of the dropped emission since air travel normally only accounts for 2.8% of global carbon emissions. In a period that was so hard for everyone involved, some positives did arise with this being one of the major positive impacts.

JUNE

Former astronaut Kathy Sullivan is the first woman to reach deepest point of the ocean - Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench. Formerly the first American woman to spacewalk.

On 6 June, Kathy Sullivan travelled seven miles under the surface of the Pacific Ocean in a submarine made out of titanium. They descended at 1m/s in order to adapt to the increasing pressure on the submarine each time they submerged further. The pressure at the bottom of the trench is 1086 bars which is over 1000 times the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level. Due to her past as an astronaut, she not only becomes the first woman to visit Challenger Deep but also to travel 250 miles above the Earth’s surface and seven miles below.

JULY

China launches its first mission to Mars.

In the early hours of the 23 July 2020, China launched its first ever three-part mission to Mars. Consisting of three spacecrafts built to help to further explore and discover beneath the red planet’s surface, this mission will continue to investigate the planet, lasting into 2021. With China being the only other successful country to land a mission on Mars apart from the US, they have managed to catapult themselves ahead in the space race, catching up to missions only NASA has mastered. The more countries that make it to Mars, the more we will discover from it. 2021 is expected to be exciting times for the space race.

AUGUST

Catastrophic explosion in Beirut, Lebanon.

On the 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of the city or Beirut, in Lebanon. The ammonium nitrate, which is commonly used in fertilizers, was said to be stored unsafely which led to the deadly explosion. The already fragile population, which is facing civil unrest and an ongoing socio-economic crisis, plus having to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, struggled severely with the damage. The blast had catastrophic effects on the population, killing nearly 200, injuring near 7000, and making over 300’000 people homeless. However, many organizations such as the WHO are working with the city to help them recover, providing support as well as financial help.

SEPTEMBER

Moria Refugee Camp, Europe’s biggest migrant camp, burns down.

On the 9 September 2020, the largest refugee camp in Greece was burnt down. It is unclear what started the fires, although it is thought that this was not an accident but arson induced by rising tensions in the camps. The supposed arsonists had taken advantage of stronger winds to spread the deadly fire across nearly the entire camp, leaving 13000 migrants without shelter. The destroyed camp, which was only designed for 3000 migrants but had been posing as shelter for over 13000, left thousands of migrants fleeing into nearby towns. Sadly, the Greek authorities had to block off roads to prevent the spread of Covid-19 which had been found in the camp, from spreading to the rest of Greece, which meant many migrants were trapped. This fire was a strong reminder of the ongoing refugee crisis that we still need to tackle.

OCTOBER

China states that it will be carbon neutral by 2060.

Chinese president Xi Jinping told the UN general assembly that China will reach carbon neutrality by 2060, and is set to reach a carbon peak in the next decade, (meaning that after this China’s CO2 levels will drop). Under the Paris Climate agreement, Jinping will move into what he calls a ‘green recovery’ where he will adopt more vigorous policies and tax on carbon after the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a game changer now that China, one of the worst CO2 emitters in the world, has a clear plan for moving away from carbon. Many countries are expected to follow suit as we all work towards reducing our carbon footprint.

NOVEMBER

Joe Biden becomes the US’s 46th president.

The result of the US 2020 elections came in at the end of November, with Joe Biden being voted in as America’s 46th President. Donald Trump, the former president, was defeated by an extra 74 electoral college votes from Biden that meant he had to step down from the White House. The vote was originally close with it looking like Trump had the majority, however when Pennsylvania’s votes finally came in, the vote swung and brought Biden to victory. Along with Biden, Kamala Harris, the US’s first ever female, African/ Asian American vice president entered the White House. This is a feat that will not be forgotten in History.

DECEMBER

UN chief urges world leaders to declare climate emergency before the Paris Agreement’s 5th anniversary.

“Can anyone still deny that are facing a dramatic emergency?” said Antonio Guterres on the 12 December at the Climate Ambition Summit. five years after the launch of the Paris Climate Agreement, 38 countries have already declared a state of emergency and have started working stopping the impacts of the climate breakdown. However, Guterres is urging all other countries to follow in this state of emergency, requiring countries to step up their actions on greenhouse gas emissions immediately. Many countries have a target to reach net carbon zero by 2050, but very few have a detailed plan on how to actually get there. Although, with superpower China and world’s worst emitter setting a good example with its new action plan for carbon emissions, it is likely that we will start to see more countries lead the way in working towards green peace.