Even though 2022 felt like a better year than the preceding ones for many, it was littered with not-so-great moments. In this article, we’ll delve into details regarding the most important news events in 2022.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine
This is undoubtedly the most important event of 2022. On February 24th, Russia invaded Ukraine in a conflict that’s still ongoing. Aside from the critical situation in Ukraine, it brought issues worldwide.
As Ukraine is one of the top wheat providers, it has caused shortages of flour and other related items worldwide. The conflict also triggered a massive energy crisis in Europe, as many nations imposed restrictions on Russia which included stopping gas imports from Europe’s biggest gas provider.
Inflation
Whether this issue is related to the previous one is a matter of debate. What isn’t debatable is that inflation worldwide surged in 2022 to unexpected levels. In the USA, for instance, prices went higher than 9.1%.
This also translated to housing, since mortgage rates went through the roof in many countries around the world, disallowing people to buy homes when compared to a year before. Many struggle to pay their current rates thanks to inflation, too, which might trigger a housing collapse.
Droughts and heatwaves
In 2022 there was a record-breaking drought in Europe, with record-high temperatures, too. This caused many rivers to become unnavigable, and decreased electricity generation from the hydroelectric plants.
This happened not only in Europe but also elsewhere. For instance, in August, factories in China had to shut down production because of the low levels in the Yangtze river basin.
High temperatures were also an issue that caused damage in many parts of the world, including melting highways and wildfires. Some meteorological services updated or developed new apps to account for all this.
The world population reached 8 billion
Not everything was bad news: on November 15th, the world reached 8 billion people. The accolade goes to Vince Mabansag, who was born at 1 A.M. in the Philippines capital, Manila. While a newborn brings joy to everybody, some wonder about uncontrollable population growth.
However, the latest investigations predict that the population will plateau at some point during this century, even decreasing by around 2100. The key aspect to improving the state of the world wouldn’t be reducing population growth, but a better distribution of wealth throughout the world.
U.S. ends right to abortion
On June 24th, the US Supreme Court decided against abortion rights in a highly-publicized case that overturned the 1973 Roe vs Wade decision. This was a major victory for pro-life groups and a major defeat for pro-abortion ones.
The court deemed the 1973 decision as “egregiously wrong from the start” and “exceptionally weak”, arguing that since the Constitution makes no reference to abortion, no such right is implicitly protected.
Queen Elizabeth II passed away
On September 8th, Queen Elizabeth II died at her Balmoral Castle residence in Scotland. She was 96 years old and was on the throne for 70 years. This makes her the second longest-ever reigning monarch.
She was succeeded by his son Charles, now King Charles III. With many issues in the UK, such as the impact of Brexit and a new prime minister, it’s not clear whether King Charles III will take a more political stance.
