February 13 – NASA publishes a detailed study of Arrokoth, the most distant body ever explored by a spacecraft.[39]
February 19 – Hanau shootings: Eleven people are killed and five injured in a terrorist shooting spree by a far-right extremist targeting shisha bars in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany.[40]
India and the United Kingdom go into lockdown to contain COVID-19. The total number of people in the world facing some form of pandemic-related movement restriction now exceeds 2.6 billion, a third of the global population.[67]
Global COVID-19 cases reach 500,000, with nearly 23,000 deaths confirmed.[72] The U.S. surpasses China and Italy in the total number of known COVID-19 cases, with at least 81,321 cases and more than 1,000 deaths.[73]
April 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: Japan declares a state of emergency in response to COVID-19 and finalises a stimulus package worth 108 trillion yen (US$990 billion), equal to 20% of the country's GDP.[82]
COVID-19 pandemic: Pope Francislivestreams the Urbi et Orbi blessing for Easter; it is the second blessing in a month, with the first taking place on March 27 during a special prayer service for the end of the pandemic.[88]
OPEC and allies strike a deal to cut oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day, the largest such cut agreed upon, starting May 1.[89]
China revises the COVID-19 death toll in Wuhan upward, adding 1,290 more fatalities to bring the country's reported COVID-19 deaths to 4,632.[96]
Europe surpasses 100,000 COVID-19-related deaths.[97]
The U.N. Human Rights Office accuses Myanmar of carrying out daily airstrikes in the Rakhine and Chin states and that at least 32 civilians have been killed since March 23. The separatist Arakan Army unilaterally declared a month-long ceasefire to fight the pandemic, but the military rejected the ceasefire claiming a previous ceasefire had been reneged by the insurgents.[98]
Syrian Civil War: Two former high-ranking members of the Syrian Army go on trial in Koblenz, Germany, for alleged war crimes committed during the civil war. It is the first time that Syrian military officials are prosecuted for their roles in the conflict.[106]
COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 200,000.[111] The UK becomes the fifth country to report 20,000 deaths.[112]
April 26–KingSalman issues a royal decree, declaring that people will no longer be executed in Saudi Arabia for crimes they were convicted of when they were minors.[113]
April 27– COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases passes 3 million worldwide, while the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. passes 1 million.[114][115]
COVID-19 pandemic: The total number of recovered COVID-19 patients reaches 1 million worldwide, according to data from The Johns Hopkins University.[122]
May 2– The United Nations publishes a report stating that Russia's indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Syria constitutes a war crime.[124][125][126]
May 4– A team of British and Kenyan scientists announce the discovery of Microsporidia MB, a parasitic microbe in the Microsporidia fungi group that blocks mosquitos from carrying malaria, potentially paving the way for the control of malaria.[128]
COVID-19 pandemic: New evidence indicates that an Algerian-born French fishmonger, who had not traveled to China and did not have contact with any Chinese nationals, was treated for pneumonia from an unknown source on December 27, 2019, now identified as COVID-19.[131]
May 8– The Aurangabad railway accident occurred in India. 17 migrants were sleeping on the trains when a freight train collided and killed 16 people and injured 1.[132]
COVID-19 pandemic: Wuhan reports its first coronavirus cases in more than a month. An 89-year-old man is confirmed positive, but his wife and several members of the community are recorded as asymptomatic cases.[136]
Cyclone Amphan makes landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh, killing over 100 people and forcing the evacuation of more than 4 million others. It causes over US$13 billion in damage, making it the costliest cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, shattering the record previously held by Nargis.[148]
The U.S. announces it will withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty within six months, alleging continuous violations by Russia.[149]
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 5 million worldwide, with 106,000 new cases recorded over the past 24 hours, the highest single-day figure so far.[150]
COVID-19 pandemic: Brazil overtakes Russia to become the country with the second highest number of COVID-19 cases, with over 330,000 reported. President Jair Bolsonaro continues to dismiss the threat of the virus.[152]
COVID-19 pandemic: The U.S. death toll passes 100,000 – more Americans than were killed in the Vietnam War and Korean War combined, and approaching that of the First World War, where 116,000 Americans died in combat.[166] The total number of cases continues to rise, although the rate is slowing.[167]
June 7– COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 400,000.[177]
June 8– COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 7 million worldwide.[178]
June 9– COVID-19 pandemic: A Harvard University study suggests that COVID-19 may have been spreading in China as early as August 2019, based on hospital car park usage and web search trends.[179]
At least 20 Indian soldiers and over 40 Chinese forces are killed or injured in skirmishes in the disputed Galwan Valley, the largest escalation along the Sino-Indian border in five decades.[180]
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 10 million worldwide.[201] The U.S. continues to report the highest number of any country as it reaches 2.5 million, a quarter of all cases globally.[202]
The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 500,000.[203]
July 1– Russian voters back a constitutional amendment that, among other things, enables Vladimir Putin to seek two further six-year terms when his current term ends in 2024, potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2036.[209]
July 21– COVID-19 pandemic: European leaders agree to create a €750 billion (US$858 billion) recovery fund to rebuild EU economies impacted by the pandemic.[231]
July 22– COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 15 million worldwide.[232]
28 July– Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak is found guilty of all seven charges in the first of five trials on the 1MDB scandal, being jailed 12 years and fined RM210 million as a result.[234]
The skeletons of 200 mammoths and 30 other animals are unearthed at a construction site for the Mexico City Santa Lucía Airport. It is the largest find of mammoth bones to date, surpassing The Mammoth Site in the U.S. which had 61 skeletons.[267]
The La Línea highway tunnel, the longest road tunnel in South America at a length of 8.65 kilometres (5.37mi), is opened in Colombia after 14 years of construction and several delays.[269]
September 6–Typhoon Haishen makes landfall on Japan and then South Korea as a strong category 2-equivalent typhoon.[273] It later makes landfall on North Korea where widespread flooding occurs.[274]
October 1– The EU began legal proceedings against the UK after it ignored their deadline to drop controversial sections from its internal market Bill.[289]
October 5– COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 35 million worldwide. The news coincides with the World Health Organization estimating that total worldwide cases may be around 760 million; roughly a tenth of the global population.[290][291]
October 19– COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 40 million worldwide.[295]
October 20– NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touches down on Bennu, becoming the agency's first probe to retrieve samples from an asteroid, with its cargo due for return to Earth in 2023.[296]
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 45 million worldwide.[307]
October 31–Typhoon Goni makes landfall in the Philippines, becoming the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone in history, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and killing dozens of people in the region.[308]
COVID-19 pandemic: The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is proven to be 94.5% effective against COVID-19 based on interim results, including severe illnesses. The vaccine has been cited as being among those that are easier to distribute as no ultra-cold storage is required.[328]
November 17 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 55 million worldwide, with around a million cases recorded every two days on average.[330]
November 23– COVID-19 pandemic: AstraZeneca's AZD1222 vaccine, developed in collaboration with Oxford University, is shown to be 70% effective in protecting against COVID-19. The efficacy can be raised to 90% if an initial half dose is followed by a full dose a month later, based on interim data.[336][337]
November 25– COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 60 million worldwide.[338]
COVID-19 pandemic: Moderna files an application for Emergency Use Authorization in the United States after its vaccine achieved an efficacy of 94.1% from full trials without safety concerns. It also plans to do the same in EU soon.[346]
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 65 million worldwide, with the global death toll exceeding 1.5 million. Figures reflect that, in the last week, over 10,000 people worldwide have died on average every day, with one death every nine seconds. According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 had caused more deaths in 2020 than tuberculosis in 2019, as well as four times the number of deaths than malaria.[356][357]
Somali Civil War: The United States announces its withdrawal from the conflict over the next month.[358]
COVID-19 pandemic: The United Kingdom becomes the first nation to begin a mass inoculation campaign using a clinically authorised, fully tested vaccine, Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.[361][362][363] Margaret Keenan, 90, becomes the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer vaccine after trials.
Nepal and China officially agree on Mount Everest's actual height, which is 8,848.86m.[364]
Western Sahara conflict, Arab–Israeli conflict: Israel and Morocco normalise diplomatic relations. Simultaneously, the United States reaffirms its previous recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara and announces plans to build a consulate there.[368]
COVID-19 pandemic: The United States and Canada begin mass vaccination with the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.[373][374] In addition, Singapore approves the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, with other companies to provide vaccines progressively.[375]
Media outlets report that astronomers have detected a radio signal, BLC1, apparently from the direction of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun. Astronomers have stated that this and other, yet unpublished, signals, are thought to likely be "interference that we cannot fully explain" and that it appears to be among the two strongest candidates for a radio signal humanity received from extraterrestrial intelligence so far.[379][380][381]
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 75 million worldwide.[382]
COVID-19 pandemic: The United States approves Moderna's vaccine for emergency use, the second brand available there.[383]
A great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs, with the two planets separated in the sky by 0.1 degrees. This is the closest conjunction between the two planets since 1623.[386]
December 30 – COVID-19 pandemic: The United Kingdom approves AstraZeneca-Oxford's vaccine, the second one available. The vaccine is easier to store as it only requires normal fridge temperatures, making distribution easier.[391]
Eric Sylvers; Giovanni Legorano (March 9, 2020). "As Virus Spreads, Italy Locks Down Country". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020. Italy is the world's first country to place its entire territory under quarantine
Brookfield, M. E.; Catlos, E. J.; Suarez, S. E. (May 15, 2020). "Myriapod divergence times differ between molecular clock and fossil evidence: U/Pb zircon ages of the earliest fossil millipede-bearing sediments and their significance". Historical Biology, An International Journal of Paleobiology. Vol.33, no.10. pp.2014–2018. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1762593.
"Hints of life on Venus". The Royal Astronomical Society. September 14, 2020. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.