Phew!! We’re about to end this year! 2020 showed us the worst of situations we could ever experience in our lives. And now, nobody would be praying for a year like this to come again. Many lost their lives, many were displaced, and many witnessed their dreams to fall to pieces. It was a time no one expected, but in the end, it gave us the most valuable life lessons.
Let’s begin with January 1st, 2020. Were we happy and satisfied? Nope! Just remember that we were still wearing masks. Not for Covid-19, but to cope up with the high AQI levels in northern regions of India. Meanwhile, China was counting over thousands of Covid-19 cases, which were increasing at an alarming pace. Many were showing sympathy for China for not being able to curb the rapid rise of the super-villain.
Bushfires in Australia, practically, had started in October 2019, but its chaos was still visible. It had burnt over 17 million hectares of land. And yeah, how will we be able to forget disastrous floods in Indonesia on January 1st, responsible for tons of destruction? With a “trailer” like this, the “movie” of 2020 had just begun!
The most violent earthquake of the year showed up on January 24th. It was responsible for 41 deaths and 1631 injuries in the countries of Turkey and Elazig. By early February, other countries began confirming the existence of SARS-Cov2 (or the Corona Virus) in their territories. The world was now rude-awakened by the tiny killer’s escape from China. March 11th, 2020: WHO came up and called out a worldwide health emergency. In a week or two, over a million cases had been reported throughout the world.
Swarms of desert locusts, in unprecedented numbers, began to invade lands in early April. It proved to be the worst pest attack in the last two decades. Many countries, including India, saw its worrisome effects. May 16th, 2020: a cyclone appeared to form in the Bay of Bengal. The super cyclone storm “Amphan” brought catastrophic devastation in eastern India and Bangladesh. By that time, lockdowns got imposed in almost the entire world, which made everyone stay home. Everyone experienced a tough time as economies slowed down. Businesses collapsed, and jobs disappeared.
Apart from those, the year 2020 brought many more disasters. No one will forget volcanic eruptions in the Philippines, forest fires in Uttarakhand, floods in Assam, and the emergence of “green snow algae” in Antarctica. When we look back at it now, it seems to be nature’s revenge against our immoral deeds. However, all this havoc taught us the real lessons of humanity.
We witnessed how clean the surroundings were in the period of lockdown when humans didn’t show up on roads and beaches. Families were “united” again after a long time. We re-lived our heritage with the broadcast of serials like ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata.’ We started caring for ourselves and each other. And due to these gems of life, 2020 doesn’t seem to be that catastrophic at all. Yeah, many of us lost a lot in these difficult times, which could never return. But life is an endless book and the year 2020 proved to be a necessary chapter to read for us to prevail!
