Speculations about 2022

From Covid-19 and climate change to US Congressional elections in November, here's a look at some of the trends and events that might shape 2022

2021, which ends in a week, has not been a great year for the world. What might 2022 hold for us? Normally, as one calendar year succeeds another, the new year brings a mix of continuity and change. Sometimes the change reflects intensification or waning of ongoing trends. Sometimes it comes out of the blue, flapping “black swan” wings, like Covid-19 did at the turn of 2019-2020.

Important persisting trends

• The most obvious is the Covid pandemic. By October 2021 the return to reasonable normalcy seemed well underway, with vaccinations and prior infections seemingly getting the upper hand over fresh infections in