Contemporary
Brexit Referendum (2016): The UK Vote to Leave the European Union
Leave won with 51.9 per cent; David Cameron resigned, and the United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020.
Era · 1945 – present
Contemporary
From the Cold War and the Space Race to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the world we live in today.
Contemporary
Hurricane Harvey (2017): Record Rainfall and the Houston Floods
Harvey killed about 107 people and caused around 125 billion US dollars of damage, tying Katrina as the costliest US hurricane at the time, and set the US record for tropical-cyclone rainfall.
Contemporary
Hurricane Maria (2017): Devastation of Puerto Rico and Dominica
Maria caused around 90 billion US dollars of damage in Puerto Rico, the longest blackout in US history and an officially accepted 2,975 excess deaths, while devastating Dominica.
Contemporary
Camp Fire (2018): The Wildfire That Destroyed Paradise
The fire killed 85 people, destroyed about 18,800 structures including most of Paradise, and led PG&E to plead guilty to manslaughter and file for bankruptcy.
Contemporary
Tham Luang Cave Rescue (2018): Saving Thailand's Wild Boars
All twelve boys and their assistant coach were brought out alive between 8 and 10 July 2018; one Thai volunteer diver died during the operation.
Contemporary
Black Summer Bushfires (2019-2020): Australia's Fire Catastrophe
About 24 million hectares burned, 33 people died directly and more than 3,000 homes were destroyed; a royal commission made 80 recommendations on disaster arrangements.
Contemporary
COVID-19 Pandemic: Origins, Lockdowns, Vaccines and Legacy
More than 7 million deaths were officially reported and excess-mortality estimates are far higher; mass vaccination from December 2020 reduced severe illness, and WHO ended the global emergency on 5 May 2023.
Contemporary
Chang'e 4 (2019): First Landing on the Moon's Far Side
Chang'e 4 made the first soft landing on the lunar far side, and its Yutu-2 rover went on to operate for years, far beyond its planned lifetime.
Contemporary
Beirut Port Explosion (2020): Ammonium Nitrate Blast in Lebanon
At least 218 people were killed, about 7,000 injured and some 300,000 left homeless; the government resigned, but the judicial investigation was repeatedly blocked.
Contemporary
Ingenuity Helicopter (2021): First Powered Flight on Mars
Ingenuity made the first powered, controlled flight on another planet and went on to complete 72 flights before rotor damage ended its mission in January 2024.
Contemporary
James Webb Space Telescope (2021): Launch and First Images
JWST deployed successfully, reached its orbit around L2 in January 2022 and released its first science images in July 2022, becoming the most powerful space telescope ever launched.
Contemporary
Hunga Tonga Eruption (2022): The Biggest Blast in a Century
The largest volcanic explosion recorded with modern instruments; tsunamis killed at least four people in Tonga and two in Peru, and Tonga was cut off from the internet for weeks.