On New Year's Day 2021, Africa's economies ring in a new era with the official launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The coming months and years will see the creation of the world's largest free trade zone. Experts say the agreement has enormous potential, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made implementation difficult.

Police operations targeting the opposition — including challengers and protesters — have resulted in dozens of deaths. Images from Uganda's election campaign have sparked worldwide concern. On January 14, citizens will choose between long-term President Yoweri Museveni and former pop star Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine. Observers have stressed the importance of holding free and fair elections.

Will Ethiopians find unity after the central government's offensive against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF)? Or will the country fracture under the weight of its many internal conflicts? 2021 could decide whether Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed can achieve democratic balance in Ethiopia. The elections planned for June 5 may be his best chance.

One consequence of the conflict in Tigray is clear: Tens of thousands have fled the embattled region to neighboring Sudan, where the fledgling government is struggling to provide for them. Elsewhere, too, it is feared that ongoing conflicts will lead to new refugee crises in 2021, while old ones remain unresolved. It will be another difficult year in Cameroon, northern Nigeria and DR Congo.

Alongside Uganda and Ethiopia, Benin, Somalia, South Sudan, Zambia, Cape Verde, Chad and The Gambia will head to the polls in 2021 to elect new heads of state. While some countries are hoping for relatively uneventful elections, the situation in Somalia and South Sudan is already tense due to challenging security environments.

Although African countries are making it through the pandemic better than expected, the health and economic consequences are immense. Hopes for a vaccine are high, but Africa is not yet ready for "the largest vaccination campaign ever," Matshidiso Moeti of the World Health Organization (WHO) said recently. Experts don't expect vaccination to begin until mid-2021 due to logistical difficulties.

One consequence of the coronavirus pandemic won't simply disappear even after vaccinations are rolled out: Some African countries are facing state bankruptcy. Although the G20 initiated debt relief at the onset of the outbreak, NGOs are now calling for a comprehensive debt cut to mitigate the humanitarian consequences of COVID-19.  

Droughts, locust plagues, floods: No continent is suffering so acutely from the climate crisis as Africa. But young activists like Vanessa Nakate from Uganda no longer want the lip service of the Global North. She is fighting for Africa to be heard on the global stage and will be one of the continent's most vocal representatives the at the UN Climate Change Conference in November 2021.  

After years of drought followed by torrential rains, East Africa is devastated by the biggest swarm of locusts in decades. Billions of the ravenous insects devour crops in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, spreading to southern Africa, Yemen and India in later months. Climate scientists say heavy rains and warmer temperatures linked to climate change are to blame for "exceptional" breeding conditions.

A long bushfire season comes to an end after more than six months. Thirty-three people and 3 billion animals are dead, hurt or displaced, and an area the size of South Korea has been devastated. Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejects a direct link between greenhouse gas emissions and the severity of the fires; Australia is one of the world's highest per capita emitters of carbon dioxide.

With more than half the global population under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, global greenhouse gas emissions slow. Skies above industrial centers in China, Italy and elsewhere clear as airlines slash flights, factories shut down and city streets empty out. But as lockdowns ease and people find ways to live with the pandemic, experts warn emissions may rebound.

As researchers race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, world leaders struggle to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic. Chancellor Angela Merkel announces that Germany plans to make climate-friendly investment a priority in its recovery plans and urges global decision-makers to do the same. Meanwhile, activists keep up the pressure with protests, both virtual and physically distanced.

The first pandemic wave begins to ebb and people — some cooped up for weeks — begin to venture outdoors. To help maintain physical distancing and keep traffic jams and public transport crowds from getting out of control, many cities introduce temporary or permanent measures to improve urban mobility. Bogota, Colombia (above) adds more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) of emergency bike lanes.

The ongoing pandemic isn't just a health disaster. Use of disposable face masks, gloves and other plastic products has skyrocketed, contributing to a growing waste problem. In a related attempt to clean up the mess and move away from a "throw-away culture," Germany falls in line with the EU and decides to ban plastic cutlery, straws, food containers and other single-use products as of July 2021.

Early in the summer, Russia declares a state of emergency after some 21,000 tons of diesel fuel are leaked, contaminating local rivers and soil in Siberia. The disaster is followed by uncontrolled wildfires across the region, one of the world's coldest. Smoldering permafrost and burning brush release more than half a billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere the following months.

Back-to-back hurricanes in the Caribbean; raging wildfires in the Amazon rainforest; historic floods in Southeast Asia: The increasingly devastating effects of climate change make themselves known. Hurricane Laura, which caused intense flooding in the Dominican Republic and Haiti (above), claims dozens of lives there and in the US. Pakistan, meanwhile, sees its worst flooding since 1931.

As China makes an unexpected announcement to become climate neutral by 2060, wildfires rage across the US west coast, casting an ominous orange glow over San Francisco and the Bay Area. The fires scorch the states of Oregon, Washington and California for months. Overall, fires in the US claimed an estimated 4,177,856 acres (1,690,718 hectares) of land in 2020, more than half the size of Belgium.

Conservation groups reveal that the Tasmanian devil has made an appearance on the Australian mainland for the first time in 3,000 years. The "historic" release of the carnivorous marsupials into a sanctuary north of Sydney will give the endangered species the chance to rebuild a self-sustaining wild population. It's estimated that fewer than 25,000 devils still live in the wild.

The US officially leaves the Paris Agreement — a day after the decisive win of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the presidential election. Biden pledges to rejoin the international climate accord when he takes office in January and announces ambitious plans — and trillions in funding — to help wean the US energy sector off fossil fuels over the next 15 years and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

As the world marks five years since the signing of the Paris Agreement, the EU ups its green credentials. After months of tough negotiations, and a prior endorsement by the European Parliament, the 27 member states agree to a binding target to cut carbon emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels — up from 40%. Campaigners welcome the move but say much more still needs to be done.