2023 has been a year of extremes. From seeing fresh conflict in Gaza to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the last twelve months also saw rare weather events: from forest fires in Hawaii to record tempertatures in US and Europe and severe earthquakes in Turkey and Morocco.
This year, India too achieved new feat by successfully landing Chandrayaan-3 and organising a historic G-20 summit.
Here are some of the defining moments of 2023:
Israel-Hamas War
On October 7, hundreds of Hamas militants pour across the border from Gaza, killing around 1,140 people, mostly Israeli civilians, and taking about 250 people hostages in the worst attack in Israel’s history.
The attack led to an Israeli offensive which included aerial bombings, military offensive and ground attack killing 19,400 people, mostly women and children. After three months of attack, Israel is facing international pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza. The Israel-Hamas war has also led to escalation on Lebanon border with Hezbollah launching frequent attacks on Israel and Houthi rebels blocking “Israeli-linked” vessels in the Red Sea.
Turkey Earthquake
A massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked huge swathes of Turkey and parts of Syria on February 6, killing more than 50,000 people in both countries. The World Health Organization said it was the “worst natural disaster” in the European region for a century.
The earthquake struck 11 Turkish provinces led to collapse of 214,000 buildings, affecting 14 million people and an estimated damage of more than $34 billion. The tremors also killed at least 1,000 people in Syria and more than 2,000 were injured. Over 160 buildings in the country were completely destroyed, while 330 had been partially levelled, and thousands of others were damaged.
Chandrayaan-3 Landing
India created history on August 23 as Chandrayaan 3’s lander, with a rover accommodated inside it, touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm. India’s successful Moon mission propelled the country to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.
India also became the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the United States, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union. The successful landing comes just days after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after losing control.
Extreme Heat
The year goes out with a sizzle, with the European Union’s climate monitor predicting 2023 to be the hottest on record. The UN’s World Meteorological Organization warned that 2023 had shattered a whole host of climate records, with extreme weather leaving “a trail of devastation and despair”.
Drought made worse by climate change is cited as one of factors behind the deadliest wildfire in the United States in a century that claims at least 115 lives on the Hawaiian island of Maui in August.
At a landmark UN climate summit in Dubai in December, around 200 countries agree to “transition away” from fossil fuels.
Moreover, the rate of sea level rise over the past decade was more than twice the rate of the first decade of satellite records (1993-2002) and the maximum level of Antarctic Sea ice this year was the lowest on record.
Historic G-20 Summit
India, in September this year, held the historic G-20 summit where leading world leaders including US President Joe Biden, UK’s Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and several others attended.
The G20 event has held 220+ meetings in 60 cities with 25,000+ delegates from more than 115 countries across the world. India not only got a joint declaration agreed by the member nations but also got African Union inducted as permanent membership in the G-20. India was able to bring out 91 lines of effort and presidency documents which is more than the previous G20 presidencies till 2017.
Faltering fightback in Ukraine War
Sixteen months after Russia invaded its neighbour, Kyiv launches a highly anticipated counteroffensive after amassing billions in powerful Western-made weapons and training new recruits.
But the pushback fails to make much of a dent in Russia’s deep defensive lines, disappointing Kyiv’s allies. As winter sets in and the world’s attention pivots to the Israel-Hamas war, Ukraine struggles to secure further pledges of long-term military backing from the United States and European Union.
US-China Rivalry
US-China relations spiralled to lower and lower depths earlier this year with a series of events including Taiwan, South China Sea and spy ballooons.
The relations between the two countries fell to a new low in February this year when a US fighter jet shot down Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean as it flew across the United States. The incident sparked fresh strains in relations between Beijing and Washington, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelling a long-planned trip to China in February that had aimed to improve bilateral ties.
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