Top News Events Of 2015: A Comprehensive List | News World India

A lot has happened in 2015, each becoming a news maker in their own ways. In India, 2015 has seen the highs and lows from Chennai Floods to winning streaks of Sania and Saina. 2015 also was a year of terror with Paris Attacks dominating news for much of November. Nepal Earthquake shook the early half of this year.

A compilation from Google trends highlights news that shaped 2015:

Chennai Floods

Non-stop rain left Chennai deluged with water, flooding homes, schools and businesses, and killing more than 270 people.

ALSO READ: Chennai Rains: PM Modi Assures Assistance; Army Called In For Rescue Operations

Across India and the world there were search spikes for Chennai, floods and disaster preparedness.

From London to Toronto, the world wanted to know what was happening in Chennai.

Paris Attacks

On Friday, November 13, a theatre, stadium, restaurant and cafe were attacked by terrorists, and the world desperately tried to find out if loved ones were safe and what had happened in the city of light. These coordinated attacks were the deadliest on French soil since World War II.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Who were These Terrorists Who Carried Out The Paris Attacks

The day saw the highest search interest for Paris in the history of Google.

COP21 Paris Climate Change Conference

India on October 26, said that developed nations should come out with more ambitious climate action plans and hoped the coming climate change summit in Paris does not end up in “failure.”

World leaders met in Paris with an ambitious goal: create a binding, universal agreement on climate change.

ALSO READ: World Leaders In Paris For Crucial UN Climate Summit

“What is Climate Change?” The world searched to find the answers to the big questions — and whether the conference, just days after the Paris attacks, would even go ahead as planned.

Water On Mars

In late September, NASA scientists discovered water flowing across the surface of Mars. This was a potential breakthrough in both the search for life beyond Earth and human hopes to one day travel there.

ALSO READ: Evidence Of Flowing Water On Mars Found, Claims NASA

While Earth is still the most searched planet, searches for Mars peaked after NASA scientists revealed their findings.

Are we all alone in the Universe? The discoveries led to questions about life on the Red Planet.

Sania And Saina:

Sania personified Indian tennis with a stupendous rise that catapulted her to the tip of women’s doubles rankings.

Her association with Swiss great Martina Hingis formed the basis of an unstoppable juggernaut as they complimented each other perfectly to win an astonishing nine titles, a fairy tale journey adorned with prestigious victories at Wimbledon and US Open.

They teamed up in 16 events and enjoyed an overwhelming 55-7 win-loss ratio with a 22-match unbeaten streak.

Saina started the year on a brilliant note by winning the India Grand Prix Gold in Lucknow, beating reigning World Champion Carolina Marin in the final. She backed it up with her lone Superseries title in March — India Open — which she won here, defeating former World Champion Ratchanok Intanon in the summit clash.

The 25-year-old became the first Indian since Pullela Gopichand to reach the All-England final which the chief national coach had won way back in 2001. The Hyderabadi also became the first Indian to reach the final of the Worlds in August.

The Hisar-born also became the first Indian woman shuttler to become World No.1.

Volkswagen Emission Scandal

The US Environmental Protection Agency accused Volkswagen of deliberately programming its popular diesel engines to only activate emissions controls during laboratory testing.

ALSO READ: Volkswagen Scandal: CEO ‘Endlessly Sorry’, Carmaker Likely To Dismiss Him After Diesel Fraud Admission

“Is my VW recalled?” The world took to Google to see how the recall would affect them.

2015 saw other auto recalls as well, including Hyundai and Takata, but none were searched as much as Volkswagen.

Greece Crisis

A European Union (EU) flag flutters in front of the temple of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. Finance ministers of the 19-nation euro single currency group on Friday approved the first 26 billion euros ($29 billion) of a vast new bailout package to help rebuild Greece’s shattered economy. (File image)

Greece became the first developed country to fail to make an IMF loan repayment.

Searches for “Euro to Dollar” were higher during the Greece Euro referendum than at any time, ever.

ALSO READ: Greece Bailout: European Stability Mechanism Approves 86 Billion Euro Plan

Search interest in the possibility of Greece leaving the Euro (Grexit) was widespread around the world.

“Why would a Grexit be expensive?” was one of the top questions asked in Germany; in Greece it was: “What will happen?”

China Crisis

An investor watches a display of stock prices at a brokerage in Beijing, Friday, Aug. 21, 2015. Asian stocks fell further Friday after a survey showed Chinese manufacturing weakened this month. (File image)

As Greece’s economy faltered in June, China’s stock market crashed.

The world took to Google to ask “Is it safe to invest in China?”

Maggi Ban:

Right kind of regulations are being framed that would remove the difficulties faced by food processing industry in getting approvals, Food Processing Secretary said.

Nestlé had to pull its popular Maggi noodles from the shelves in India amid fears of food contamination with lead. India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority banned the product saying it was “unsafe and hazardous for human consumption.”

ALSO READ: Maggi Ban: All You Need To Know About The 2-Minute Noodle Muddle

“Why is Maggi banned?” Indians wanted to know what the food scare meant for them and searched to find out.

FIFA Corruption Scandal

FIFA President Sepp Blatter gestures as he attends a press conference in Marrakech, Morocco. (File image)

In May, officials at football’s world governing body were indicted over corruption allegations, throwing the world of international football and world cup bidding into the limelight.

ALSO READ: Sepp Blatter Resigns As FIFA Boss, Says Football’s Governing Body Needs ‘Profound Overhaul’

News of the scandal spread across the globe. This map shows search interest in FIFA by country.

Nepal Earthquake

11:56 a.m. Nepalese time on April 25, 2015: an 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, destroying thousands of homes, triggering a massive landslide on Mount Everest and killing approximately 9,000 people.

ALSO READ: Nepal Earthquake: Death Toll Crosses 7,000 mark; 19 Indians Among The Dead

“How can I help Nepal?” was the top question asked around the world that day.

The Nepal earthquake is second only to the Japan earthquake in 2011 as the top searched earthquake of all time.

The Dress

Was it white and gold, black and blue or blue and brown? It began when Scottish couple Grace and Keir Johnston asked their mother for a photo of the dress she was planning to wear to their wedding. It ended in a viral phenomenon that had the world doubting its eyes.

ALSO READ: Scientists Solve The Mystery Of ‘The Dress’ Which Broke The Internet

The world took to Google to find out the real color of The Dress.

The Wrong Miss Universe

Host Steve Harvey announced that the runner-up, Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, was the winner and the crown was placed on her head. But a moment later, he corrected himself removed it from Miss Colombia’s head and placed it on Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, the actual winner.