Top 10 Reasons Why 2020 Was the Worst

During difficult times, people often seek escapism by taking a trip, going to the movies, or watching the game. Due to the ongoing pandemic, which we’ll discuss in greater detail later, people were deprived of these simple pleasures worldwide. Not only were there travel restrictions, but popular destinations such as Disneyland had to temporarily close. With numerous tentpole releases being delayed, the future of movie theaters, particularly brands like AMC, remains up in the air. The Tokyo Olympics were postponed until 2021 while professional sports were delayed or canceled altogether. In September, Yelp reported that 60% of businesses that closed due to COVID-19 wouldn’t reopen. Because of the massive job losses, many have also lost their access to health care and means to pay rent.

Inspiring public figures die every year, but 2020 was especially painful. One of the biggest blows came in January when Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash with eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. People were just as devastated by the sudden loss of Chadwick Boseman, who’d been privately battling colon cancer since 2016. The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is inclined to impact the U.S. for generations to come, as her vacant Supreme Court seat sparked a controversial Senate vote. Naya Rivera, Regis Philbin, Kirk Douglas, Kelly Preston, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Trebek, Sean Connery and Diego Maradona are just some of the other household names we lost this year. The list only goes on, which further demonstrates why 2020 was so relentlessly awful.

The Calabasas helicopter crash wasn’t this year’s only tragic aircraft accident. That same month, a Ukraine International Airlines passenger flight traveling from Tehran to Kyiv got caught in the middle of the 2019–2020 Persian Gulf crisis. The Boeing 737-800 was shot down by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in mid-air, resulting in the deaths of all 167 passengers and the nine crew members on board. The attack occurred less than a week after Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was killed by a drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump. An unrelated yet equally distressing plane crash would occur in Pakistan later that May. Although two passengers survived, this crash still claimed the lives of 91 passengers, 8 crew members, and one person on the ground.

In 2014, 2,750 tonnes of confiscated ammonium nitrate were improperly stored at Warehouse 12 in Beirut, Lebanon. Fireworks had also been stored in the warehouse, which possibly triggered the first explosion that occurred on August 4, 2020. This was followed by a far more earth-shattering explosion less than a minute later, engulfing Beirut in a red-orange cloud of smoke. While the detonation’s exact cause remains undetermined, the disaster left at least 204 dead, 6,500 injured, and roughly 300,000 homeless. It also cost $15 billion in property damage, hurting an already fragile economy. The blast itself could be felt in nearby countries in West Asia and Europe. The horrified reaction to this haunting explosion was shared all around the world.

For more than 30 years, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at odds over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the South Caucasus. The first Nagorno-Karabakh War lasted from 1988 to 1994, although tensions between these two countries would persist well into the 21st century. The conflict escalated on September 27, 2020, when Armenia declared martial law and mobilized its army due to major clashes at Nagorno-Karabakh. In turn, Azerbaijan also instigated martial law, as well as a curfew. The war is ongoing and the exact number of casualties has been debated, although Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on October 22 that roughly 5,000 lives had been lost. In any case, the 2020 conflict stands out as this feud’s deadliest chapter since the Four-Day War in 2016.

The events of 2020 divided many Americans and the fight for the White House only fuelled tensions. The 2020 U.S. presidential election proved emotionally draining, whether you supported Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or an independent. Believe it or not, Kanye West’s candidacy wasn’t even the most head-scratching part. The entire election cycle was best summed up at the first presidential debate, which played out more like a shouting match. The stress continued beyond election day, with votes taking longer to count due to the volume of postal votes. The nail-biting race sparked protests, as well as a barrage of lawsuits from Republicans. Jimmy Kimmel might have put it best, describing the wait as “like being awake during your own surgery”!

As the U.S. protested the excessive use of force by law enforcement, the citizens of Nigeria found themselves in a similar situation. Since 2017, the End SARS movement has demanded an end to police brutality. On October 22, 2020, a peaceful protest turned deadly when the Nigerian Armed Forces reportedly attacked End SARS supporters at the Lekki toll gate. Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-olu claimed nobody died in the shooting, but eventually acknowledged two deaths. Reports have varied as to how many unarmed protesters died, although Amnesty International says at least 12 lives were lost and numerous were wounded. Security cameras were allegedly removed shortly before chaos erupted, sparking suspicions of a coverup.

The worsening effects of climate change have never been more apparent. As of writing, the 2020 California wildfire season has already burned over 4,000 acres and cost $2 billion USD. As devastating as that is, 46 million acres were lost in Australia from June 2019 to May 2020. Black Summer, as it’s often called, cost more than $103 billion in AUD, or about $73 billion in USD. The fires claimed 34 human lives and another 445 from the smoke. The wildlife suffered an even more substantial toll with up to one billion animals lost, 800 million of which were in New South Wales. Species such as koalas could even be vulnerable to extinction.

Between the fatal shootings of Breonna Taylor in March and Rayshard Brooks in June, police brutality and racial profiling have come under the spotlight in 2020. For many, the boiling point came on May 25 when 46-year-old African-American George Floyd died during an arrest as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over eight minutes. This sparked widespread protests across the nation, most peaceful. In some demonstrations however, there were also incidents of rioting, looting, and police brutality. Controversially, President Trump threatened to send in the military, and cleared out protesters at Lafayette Square for a photo-op. While the protests increased calls for justice, demonstrators are still waiting for substantial change.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few more reasons why this year has been the worst.

Puerto Rico Earthquakes
4 Casualties & 9 Injured

Violent Attack in Vienna
On the Eve of a Coronavirus Shutdown

Jakarta Floods
66 Lives Lost

2020 Stock Market Crash
The Worst Crash Since 1929

The Murder of History Teacher Samuel Paty in Paris
Murdered for Showing a Cartoon of Muhammad to Students

Obviously. The COVID-19 pandemic is reason enough to declare 2020 the worst. This wasn’t the year’s only health crisis, as a new Ebola outbreak was reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Yet, 2020 will always be remembered as the year that Coronavirus separated loved ones around the world and cost numerous lives. As of writing, almost 50 million cases have been confirmed and over one million have died worldwide. In the US, where President’s Trump’s stance towards masks and lockdowns divided the nation, new daily cases hit well over 100,000 by November. The effects of COVID-19 will likely persist for years to come, making 2020 a historic year for all the wrong reasons.