Adrift: The world we passed in 2020

The year that passed saw the humanity scramble—first to make sense of the threat that made us retreat, and later to cope with the idea of retreat itself—and here we are at the beginning of a new year, adrift, making sense of our vulnerability as a race
Curated By: Madhu Kapparath
Published: Jan 4, 2021
A farmer harvests apples at an apple orchard in Yiyuan County, Shandong Province of China. Yiyuan ap

Image by : Zhao Dongshan/VCG via Getty Images

1/11

A farmer harvests apples at an apple orchard in Yiyuan County, Shandong Province of China. Yiyuan apple entered the Russian market for the first time in 2018 when they were transported via the China-Europe railway express service. October 10, 2020

Shelves normally stocked with hand wipes, hand sanitiser and toilet paper sit empty at a Target stor

Image by : Win McNamee/Getty Images

2/11

Shelves normally stocked with hand wipes, hand sanitiser and toilet paper sit empty at a Target store as people stockpile supplies after the coronavirus outbreak in Arlington, Virginia. The US government was racing to make more coronavirus test kits available as schools closed around the country, sporting events were canceled, and businesses encouraged workers to telecommute where possible. March 13, 2020

A damaged clock is seen inside a classroom after a terror attack at the university of Kabul, Afghani

Image by : Mohammad Ismail / Reuters

3/11

A damaged clock is seen inside a classroom after a terror attack at the university of Kabul, Afghanistan. November 3, 2020

A group of chinstrap penguins walk on top of an iceberg floating near Lemaire Channel, Antarctica. F

Image by : Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters

4/11

A group of chinstrap penguins walk on top of an iceberg floating near Lemaire Channel, Antarctica. February 6, 2020

Workers unload a shipment of 10 million protective face masks and other protective medical gear that

Image by : Jens Schlueter/Getty Images

5/11

Workers unload a shipment of 10 million protective face masks and other protective medical gear that had arrived on an Antonov 225 cargo plane from China at Leipzig/Halle airport during the pandemic in Schkeuditz, Germany. The flight was one of three that brought 25 million masks to Germany. April 27, 2020

Olivia Grant hugs her grandmother, Mary Grace Sileo through a plastic drop cloth hung up on a homema

Image by : Al Bello/Getty Images

6/11

Olivia Grant hugs her grandmother, Mary Grace Sileo through a plastic drop cloth hung up on a homemade clothes line in Wantagh, New York. It is the first time they have had contact of any kind since the pandemic lockdown started in late February. May 24, 2020

A general view of treatment blocks at a temporary hospital in the Krylatskoye Ice Palace, where pati

Image by : Maxim Shemetov/ Reuters

7/11

A general view of treatment blocks at a temporary hospital in the Krylatskoye Ice Palace, where patients suffering from the coronavirus are treated, in Moscow, Russia. November 13, 2020

Swiss artists Frank and Patrik Riklin pose in the bedroom of their Zero-Real-Estate land art install

Image by : Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters

8/11

Swiss artists Frank and Patrik Riklin pose in the bedroom of their Zero-Real-Estate land art installation, as the pandemic continues, on an alp near Walenstadt, Switzerland. May 29, 2020

A movie plays at a newly opened drive-in cinema in front of the

Image by : Lars Baron/Getty Images

9/11

A movie plays at a newly opened drive-in cinema in front of the "Phoenix West", a former blast furnace, during the pandemic in Dortmund, Germany. While regular cinemas remain temporarily closed, drive-in cinemas in some states have been allowed to remain open, with the requirement that a maximum of two people occupy each car. April 20, 2020

A month before the pandemic would hit Japan, men dressed in loincloth prepare to snatch a wooden sti

Image by : Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters

10/11

A month before the pandemic would hit Japan, men dressed in loincloth prepare to snatch a wooden stick called "shingi" tossed by the priest during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The person who grabs the wooden stick is considered the "luckiest man of the year". February 15, 2020

A view of the waiting area inside the vaccination center in a hall at the Koelnmesse trade fair comp

Image by : Lukas Schulze/Getty Images

11/11

A view of the waiting area inside the vaccination center in a hall at the Koelnmesse trade fair complex in Cologne, Germany. The center is among hundreds of trade fair halls, gymnasiums, concert arenas and other venues that authorities are converting into vaccination centers for administering the new vaccine against Covid-19. December 15, 2020

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