The adjective ‘eventful’ would not aptly describe the year that was 2020. From the global COVID-19 pandemic to a battery of explosions in Beirut – 2020 has been nothing short of apocalyptic. Not only did we brave out our near and dear ones succumbing to COVID, but we also mourned the loss of Maradona, Kobe Bryant and George Floyd.

While the United States was rocked by Black Lives Matter protests, Britain witnessed its long-delayed exit from the European Union.

The year also gave us one of the most controversial elections in the United States. US President Donald Trump refused to accept his poll defeat and hampered the transition of his predecessor Joe Biden.

Here’s a look at the top photos from 2020 which capture this year. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

A woman wears a plastic water bottle with a cutout to cover her face, as she walks on a footbridge in Hong Kong on January 31, 2020, as a preventative measure against COVID-19. (Photo credit: AFP)
Mask-clad commuters make their way to work during morning rush hour at the Shinagawa train station in Tokyo on February 28, 2020. (Photo credit: AFP)
A youth living at the foot of Taal volcano rides an outrigger canoe while the volcano spews ash as seen from Tanauan town in Manila, on January 13, 2020. (Photo credit: AFP)
Britain’s Prince Harry (L), Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive to attend the Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion House in London on March 5, 2020. (Photo credit: AFP)
A Syrian woman sits in a tent with her son as others wait for food distribution on March 3, 2020 in front of the Pazarkule border crossing to Greece, in Edirne. (Photo credit: AFP)
Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed acting president Juan Guaido is helped to climb a railing in an attempt to reach the National Assembly building in Caracas, on January 5, 2020. (Photo credit: AFP)
Police inspector Rajesh Babu (C) wearing a coronavirus-themed helmet speaks to a family on a motorbike at a checkpoint during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown in Chennai on March 28, 2020. (Photo credit: AFP)
This picture taken on May 4, 2020 during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan shows members of the displaced Syrian family of Tareq Abu Ziad, from the town of Ariha in the southern countryside of the Idlib province, breaking their fast together. (Photo credit: AFP)
Bolshoi theatre leading soloist Igor Tsvirko and first soloist Margarita Shrainer attend a lesson in the kitchen of their apartment in Moscow on April 29, 2020 during a strict lockdown in Russia. (Photo credit: AFP)
People raise their hands and shout slogans as they protest at the makeshift memorial in honour of George Floyd, on June 2, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo credit: AFP)
Police officers kneel during a rally in Coral Gables, Florida on May 30, 2020 in response to the recent death of George Floyd. (Photo credit: AFP)
A helicopter puts out a fire at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut on August 4, 2020. (Photo credit: AFP)
A protester reacts standing in front of a burning building set on fire during a demonstration in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 29, 2020, over the death of George Floyd. (Photo credit: AFP)
Riot police detain a man as they clear protesters taking part in a rally against a new national security law in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020, on the 23rd anniversary of the city’s handover from Britain to China. (Photo credit: AFP)
The melted sign of the Oak Park Motel destroyed by the flames of the Beachie Creek Fire is seen in Gates, east of Salem, Oregon on September 13, 2020. (Photo credit: AFP)
US President-elect Joe Biden (R) and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (2nd L) react as confetti falls, with Jill Biden (R) and Douglas Emhoff, after delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 7, 2020, after being declared the winners of the presidential election. (Photo credit: AFP)