Global events of the last twelve months

COP26 

The number of people receiving a third Covid vaccine in the UK exceeds 10 million

Two cases of the Omicron variant are reported in the UK 

The US announces a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing

Average house prices in the UK hit a record £254,822

The UK’s warmest New Year's Day on record is reported, with temperatures of 16.2 °C (61.2 °F) in central London

Russia invades Ukraine

UK ends Covid restrictions

Ofgem (the UK energy regulator) announces a lifting of the energy price cap from £1,277 to £1,971, an increase of 54%

Storm Eunice hits the UK with the fastest wind gusts ever recorded in England (122 mph) 

Disney appoints executive to oversee metaverse strategy 

P&O Ferries announces decision to dismiss 800 employees in the UK and replace with lower paid agency staff

Scientists sequence the complete human genome for the first time

Shanghai locks down to control latest Covid outbreak

Record temperatures in India and Pakistan

Flooding in South Africa

Global food prices increase to their highest level since the UN's Food Price Index began in 1990

First all-private mission to the International Space Station 

For the first time since records began, UK job vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed

India bans wheat exports with immediate effect after a heat wave causes yields to be lower than expected

Roe v Wade overturned by the US Supreme Court

Summer of industrial action begins in the UK with three days of train strikes

Record temperatures in France and Spain

Start of four-day work week trial in the UK

The UK government publishes a draft Mental Health Bill

Boris Johnson resigns as the UK’s Prime Minister

Record temperatures in the UK with temperatures passing 40˚C for the first time

At least 5,400 people are killed due to extreme heatwaves hitting much of Europe

The European Central Bank raises its key interest rate for the first time in more than 11 years

The World Health Organisation declares the recent monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern

The Bank of England increases interest rates by 0.5% to 1.75% and forecasts a period of stagflation with a lengthy recession with the highest rate of inflation for over 40 years

US Senate passes US$739 billion Climate and Healthcare Bill

Drought declared in the UK and across Europe with countries experiencing the worst drought for 500 years

China conducts its largest ever military exercise around Taiwan

Floods in Pakistan

Liz Truss elected the new leader of the Conservative party in the UK and, consequently, the country’s new Prime Minister

Queen Elizabeth II dies and Prince Charles becomes King Charles III

New government in the UK announces significant cuts to income tax, national insurance and corporation tax

GBP falls to a record low against USD 

National Grid warns of potential winter blackouts 

The Metaverse Spectrum introduces their first ever METAVERSE 100 list - listing 100 top companies that are believed to determine the future of the metaverse

Liz Truss resigns after a tumultuous 44 day reign as Prime Minister and is replaced by Rishi Sunak

A third five-year term conferred on China President Xi Jinping at the Chinese Communist Party Congress

US mid-terms elections

Left-winger Lula da Silva replaces populist right-winger Jair Bolsonaro as President of Brazil

Bank of England predicts the longest recession since records began through 2023 and 2024

UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP 27) in Egypt

UK inflation reaches 11.1%

Autumn Statement in the UK signals higher taxes and reduced public expenditure in real terms

UK government accepts that the country is in recession