COVER STORY
Mother Earth, thank you for taking us on another trip around the sun! The trip was not fun, though, but why look at the gloomy
side when you can look at the bright side of the things? We all agree 2022 was probably tougher than the preceding years, but at least Covid stopped making waves. In Pakistan, erratic political condition, soaring tomato prices, electricity and gas shortages wreaked havoc in our lives, but we still managed to hum to Pasoori and As it Was on our tiring commutes and watch T20 World Cup and FIFA 2022 matches.
Now, let’s us look back at some of the big moments from 2022 …
On January 14, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in Tonga erupted, blasting ash into the atmosphere and causing tsunamis across the Pacific. The eruption lasted for twelve hours, and sent waves as far away as Peru and the United States.
China hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, making it the first city ever to host both the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics.
On 4 March, an Afghan man belonging to the Islamic State attacked a Shia mosque at Qissa Khwani Bazaar in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. In the suicide attack, at least 63 people were killed and around 196 were injured.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine from Belarus to the north, the Russian-annexed Crimea Peninsula to the south, and its own territory to the east.
The war has since killed thousands, displaced millions and destroyed entire cities.
April
The National Assembly of Pakistan elected leader of the opposition Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister of Pakistan after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership.
Scientists found and filmed one of the greatest ever undiscovered shipwrecks 107 years after it sank. The Endurance, the lost vessel of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, was found at the bottom of the Weddell Sea.
Global food prices increased to their highest level since the UN’s Food Price Index began in 1990, with commodities such as wheat rising by nearly 20% as a result of the Ukraine crisis.
An outbreak of monkeypoxwas reported when the first monkeypox virus case was reported in London, the United Kingdom.
At least 1000 were killed after magnitude 5.9 earthquake rocked remote parts of Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan.
Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe was assassinated while giving a public speech in the city of Nara, Japan.
Torrential monsoon rains triggered the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s recent history, washing away villages and millions of people million in need of immediate lifesaving support, and at increased risk of waterborne diseases, and malnutrition.
Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96. At a ceremony at St James’s Palace in London, Prince Charles was officially proclaimed King Chares III of the United Kingdom and of the Commonwealth realms.
The summer of 2022 was the hottest in Europe’s recorded history, with the continent suffering blistering heatwaves and the worst drought in centuries.
Protests erupted in Iran following the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old was arrested in Tehran by Iran’s so-called ‘morality police’ for allegedly not following the country’s dress code for women.
Elon Musk officially took control of Twitter after finalising a $44bn deal to buy the social media network.
Harry Styles set new popularity records as he has become the ‘most wanted performer’ to sing at the Brits and Grammys upcoming events. Yes, we all couldn’t stop listening to Watermelon Sugar and As it Was!
Two young women opened cans of tomato soup and threw their contents onto Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting Sunflowers exhibited at London’s National Gallery. The soup-throwers donned shirts displaying the logo of Just Stop Oil, an activist group that has been staging nonviolent demonstrations across the United Kingdom to protest the production of fossil fuels.
The Legend of Maula Jatt broke record by becoming the highest grossing Punjabi film of all time in the 4th week of its release. The film has surpassed the lifetime earning of all the Punjabi hits including Carry on Jatta 2, Saunkan Saunkne and Chal Mera Putt 2, with the box office earnings of Rs 172 crore worldwide.
2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) on climate change mitigation took place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Countries at the summit agreed to set up a compensation fund for poor nations suffering the impact of climate change.
NASA launched Artemis 1, the first uncrewed launch of its Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever launched into orbit.
The liftoff marked the start of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration programme, named after Apollo’s mythological twin sister. The space agency is aiming to send four astronauts around the Moon on the next flight, in 2024, and land humans there as early as 2025.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup was held in Qatar. More than 2.45 million people attended the first 48 matches of the Qatar 2022 World Cup while teams from five confederations made it to the round of 16. The number was higher than that of the 2018 World Cup in Russia for the group stages.
Yellow warnings for snow and ice have been extended as cold weather continued to cause disruption across the UK.
Temperatures dropped below -15 degrees Celsius in northern Scotland.
Some good stories
* Once-endangered humpback whales are growing in population globally thanks to conservation efforts. The current global population of humpback whales has rebounded from a low point of 10,000 back to nearly 80,000, as of 2022.
* Moderna announced the first doses of its HIV vaccine have been given to trial patients. Moderna worked with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative on the groundbreaking vaccine.
* The world passed a major renewable energy milestone: there are now enough solar panels installed throughout the world to generate 1 terawatt (TW) of electricity from the sun.
* Coke Studio Season 14 has broken records this year by producing some great songs. Pasoori was released in episode 3 of CS and was an instant hit. It is the most googled song in 2022 globally.
* The four-day week became a reality for thousands of workers. The UK’s biggest trial yet began in June with nine out of ten firms taking part absolutely loving it..
