2019 has been quite a year and it’s hard to believe that it’s finally come to an end. To say farewell to a full decade, how about a quick recap through small details that might have slipped your mind?
Fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral
On 15th of April, 2019, the iconic 850 year old building in Paris caught a massively destructive fire that destroyed a huge part of its roof. It was suggested that the cause of this fire was the renovation going on in the cathedral.
Burning of the Amazon
On 21st August, the largest oxygen contributing rainforest of the world was reported to be on fire and that too, on a record rate. The news was a shock worldwide and attracted immediate attention from not only the general public but also the officials, the governments and the NGOs all around the world. Efforts were and are still being made to address the issue and save the natural structure that is shelter to hundreds and thousands of species of animals and plants.
All the hurricanes
Year 2019 has been the fourth most active Atlantic hurricane season with over 15 storms, 20 cyclones and 3+ major hurricanes along with 6 other comparatively mild ones. The damage and fear that these natural disasters brought to the victim lands and people over the year is immense and cannot be compensated for anytime soon.
But the year wasn’t ALL bad. There was quite some good news as well. For example,
Global climate-change protests
In May, hundreds of thousands of children ran out of their classrooms to protest demanding a serious action for climate change from the authorities around the world. 16 year old Greta Thurnburg took this #fridaysforfuture as an opportunity to speak up on the behalf of the youth and confront the older generations about the issue. The voice was heard and many political and not-so-young supporters joined the movement.
The European Union banned plastic.
This one was one of my personal favorites. This news was yet another baby step towards solving the global problem of the plastic trash eating up our oceans and lands.
Saudi Arabian women were allowed to travel independently.
Finally! Women and feminists around the globe were very delighted to hear about the changing laws and rules of Saudi Arabia, which has been long known for its not-so-liberal ideas for its women.
Water was found on another planet.
Scientists found a huge amount of water ice on the planet Mars and we all know what that indicates. All kinds of ideas and stories have already started floating around the general public. As if alien stories and conspiracy theories weren’t already a hit.
HIV patient was “cured”.
Scientists successfully conducted a medical experiment on an HIV patient who was in remission for 18 months and had stopped taking his drugs, making his disease “undetectable”. Even if it’s not sure yet that the cure has been formulated, there is no doubt that this is huge step towards the goal.
First ever photo of a black hole was taken.
We all remember that. The picture circulating around the internet missed almost no one. Even though it was a “meh” moment to some people, a lot of us were mesmerized by the idea of being so close to something so huge (nearly 3 million times larger than our own planet) and intimidating.
End Game made us all cry our eyeballs out.
End-ing (lol get it??) this recap with a fun memory of how Marvel made us cry tears of both, joy and sadness and jump out of our seats with its last Avengers movie. In case you guys still haven’t watched it, I don’t want to give out any spoilers, but if you are a Marvel fan, it is definitely worth your time and money.
See? 2019 wasn’t as bad a year as we all thought. It was like any other: Full of surprises, good and bad news and lots and lots of developments and improvements around the world. What was the highlight of your year? And which of these things had you really almost forgotten about? Tell us in the comments below.