TIME’s Top 100 Photos of 2021 | Time

emember when people thought it was the year? That 2020 was uniquely cursed, the worst year ever, that all would be resolved by January. Instead, 2021 has proved to be a fraught annum of unfinished transitions, half-kept promises, all torque and in-betweens. The world got moving again, yes, but not for very long and seldom together. From the U.S. to India, COVID-19 killed more people this year than last. Parts of the globe were held back by lack of access to a vaccine. Other parts (the richer parts) held themselves back by failing to access a shared reality.