January:
- Haiti suffered a disastrous 7.0 magnitude earthquake, causing widespread destruction and loss of life.
February:
- The Winter Olympic Games were held in Vancouver, Canada, with Canada topping the medals table.
April:
- Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted, disrupting air travel across Europe and beyond for several days.
May:
- David Cameron and Nick Clegg formed a Coalition Government in the United Kingdom after hung elections.
June:
- The Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a massive oil spill and environmental disaster.
July:
- Spain won the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, defeating the Netherlands in the final.
August:
- Severe floods affected Pakistan, resulting in widespread damages and humanitarian crises.
September:
- Facebook reached 500 million active users worldwide.
October:
- China surpassed Japan as the world's second-largest economy.
November:
- WikiLeaks released the "Cablegate" leaks, exposing secret documents from U.S. diplomats worldwide.
December:
- Copenhagen hosted the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference, attempting to reach agreements on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.