SYDNEY:
On Tuesday, crowds will marvel at fireworks and toast champagne to salute 2025, saluting a year that brought Olympic glory, the dramatic return of Donald Trump and unrest in the Middle East and Ukraine.
It is almost certain that 2024 will be the hottest year on record, with climate-driven disasters wreaking havoc from the plains of Europe to the Kathmandu Valley.
Sydney was welcomed in 2025 as the self-proclaimed “New Year Capital of the World”, launching nine tonnes of fireworks from its famous Opera House and Harbor Bridge at midnight.
“Just to see all the beautiful colors and enjoy this situation with so many people in wonderful Australia,” Ruth Rowse, a 71-year-old retired nurse, said before the exhibition.
As New Year’s Eve celebrations began on picturesque Sydney Harbour, many revelers were relieved to see the last 12 months in the rearview mirror.
“It would be good for the world if everything fixed itself,” Stuart Edwards, 32, an insurance worker, told AFP before the fireworks.
Taylor Swift ended her Eras tour this year, pygmy hippo Moo Deng went viral and young soccer prodigy Lamine Yamal helped Spain conquer the Euros.
The Paris Olympics united the world for a few weeks in July and August.
Athletes swam in the Seine, ran in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and rode horses on the manicured lawns outside the Palace of Versailles.
It was a global year of elections, with countless millions of people going to the polls in more than 60 countries.
Vladimir Putin won a Russian vote widely seen as a sham, while a student uprising in Bangladesh toppled the reigning prime minister.
However, no vote has been as closely watched as the November 5 vote that will soon see Trump return to the White House.
From Mexico to the Middle East, his imminent return as commander in chief is already making waves.
The president-elect threatened to impose economic pain on China and boasted of his ability to end the war in Ukraine in “24 hours.”
Unrest spread across the Middle East as Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, Israel marched into southern Lebanon, and tampered electronic devices exploded in a wave of Israeli assassinations targeting the Hezbollah.
Civilians have grown tired of the bitter war in Gaza, where dwindling supplies of food, shelter and medicine have made the humanitarian crisis even darker.
“I have lost many loved ones, including my father and close friends, since the beginning of the year,” Wafaa Hajjaj told AFP from Deir el-Balah, where masses of displaced residents are are now crammed into crowded tents.
“Let safety and security return and the war finally end.”
There was hope and worry heading into the new year in Syria, which is still reeling after the overthrow of longtime leader Assad by Islamist rebels.
“We were hesitant to go out this year because of the security situation, but we decided to overcome our fears,” lawyer Maram Ayoub, 34, told AFP from Damascus, the capital.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will approach its third anniversary in February.
Overwhelmed on its eastern flank, Ukraine must now face a Trump administration apparently determined to reduce its crucial military aid.
In the streets of kyiv, teacher Kateryna Chemeryz hoped that “peace would finally be achieved for Ukraine.”
With advances in AI on the horizon and soaring inflation expected to slow, there’s a lot to look forward to in 2025.
British bad boys Oasis will make a long-awaited reunion, while K-pop megastars BTS return to the stage after their military service in South Korea.
Football fans will be treated to a revamped 32-team Club World Cup hosted by the United States.
And around 400 million pilgrims are expected to attend the spectacular Kumbh Mela festival on India’s sacred shores, considered the largest gathering of humanity on the planet.
The UK Weather Service has already forecast sweltering global temperatures for 2025, suggesting this year is likely to be among the hottest years on record.
Meanwhile, in northern Japan, heavy snowfall in winter means some passengers at Hokkaido’s main airport could see themselves in the departure lounge in 2025.
“It was great to see snow, but I didn’t think I would be stuck here,” one man told local TV station HTB as flights were canceled.
“Maybe I should stay at the airport tonight.”
With sales of electric vehicles and renewable energy growing, there is a hint of hope that glacial progress on climate change may finally gain momentum in 2025.
