WORLD HISTORY · 2026 日本語
Events of 2026Reiwa 8 (Japan) · Year of the Horse
What happened in 2026?
So far in 2026, the Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide with 316 seats in February's general election, and a major earthquake struck off the Sanriku coast in April. In July, the Reiwa 8 Kumamoto earthquake occurred, and in September Koja Genta was elected governor of Okinawa for the first time.
- Bulgaria adopts the euroEurope
- United States strikes VenezuelaNorth America
- Milan Cortina Winter Olympics openEurope
- LDP wins landslide with 316 seatsAsia
- Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off SanrikuAsia
- Series of major earthquakes hits VenezuelaLatin America
- Reiwa 8 Kumamoto earthquake strikesAsia
- Koja Genta wins first term as Okinawa governorAsia
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
2026 at a glance
| Japanese era | Reiwa 8 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Horse |
| Age of people born in 2026 | Turn 0 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 2025 (Reiwa 7) |
| Events | 44 |
| AP World History | Unit 9 (Globalization) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 9 |
Events of 2026 (timeline · 44)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
A fire at a bar during New Year's Eve celebrations in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, kills 41 people and injures 116 others.
The United States conducts airstrikes across northern Venezuela, including the capital Caracas and captures Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores.
Thirty-two people are killed when a crane falls onto a passenger train in Sikhio district, Thailand.
Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42 crashed near Mount Bulusaraung in South Sulawesi, after losing contact en route to Makassar.
At least 45 people are killed and 292 others injured after two trains collide in Adamuz in the worst railway disaster in over a decade in Spain.
At least 70 people are killed and 10 others missing after major landslides in West Java, Indonesia.
Storm Kristin causes a catastrophic impact in Portugal and Spain with €6 billion in damage in the central region of Portugal, 15 deaths and 2,000 injuries.
A Learjet 45 crashes on approach to Baramati Airport in Maharashtra, killing all six occupants including the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar.
The Rubaya mine collapse at Rubaya mines in DR Congo causes at least 400 deaths and injured several others.
Islamist militants massacred at least 162 while injuring and kidnapping dozens in two villages in Kwara State, Nigeria.
Shootings at a residence and a school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, leave nine people dead and 27 injured.
In the first general election since the July Revolution in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, wins a landslide victory upon returning to power after almost 19 years. A referendum held alongside was also approved by the majority of voters.
Four people are killed and several more are injured when Cuban Border Guard Troops confront and open fire on a US-registered speedboat violating Cuban waters.
The government of Pakistan declares "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, initiating the 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan War.
The United States and Israel launch attacks across Iran, assassinating Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Retaliatory strikes are launched by Iran against US military bases in the Gulf, with explosions reported in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launches several projectiles into northern Israel as a response to the assassination of Ali Khamenei, formally initiating the 2026 Lebanon War.
Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat recorded the second-highest scoring game in NBA history with 83 Points.
Four members of a Palestinian family are shot dead in Tammun by the Israeli military.
A series of Boko Haram bombings leave 26 dead and 146 injured in Maiduguri, Nigeria.
Air Canada Express Flight 8646, a Bombardier CRJ-900 operated by Jazz Aviation, collided with a fire truck while landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Two fatalities were reported, both being the captain and the co-pilot. This marked the first fatal accident involving a CRJ-900.
An Aerospace Force Lockheed C-130 crashes during take-off in Puerto Leguízamo, Colombia, killing 69 people.
The Artemis II lunar flyby mission launches, marking the first crewed flight above low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The crew of Artemis II makes the first crewed circumlunar flight since Apollo 17 in 1972, returning humanity to the Moon's vicinity and breaking Apollo 13's record by ~4,000 miles as the furthest crewed spaceflight.
Operation Eternal Darkness: Hours after a ceasefire to the Iran war, Israeli attacks on Lebanon kill at least 357 and injures more than 1200 people in the largest airstrikes of the Lebanon war.
The Tisza Party, led by Péter Magyar wins the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election, defeating Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party, which had ruled the country for 16 years, marking the first change in government in Hungary for over a decade.
Twelve people and the perpetrator are killed and twelve others injured in a mass shooting at a school in Onikişubat, Turkey.
Seven people are killed and fourteen others are injured in a mass shooting in Kyiv, Ukraine
Shots are fired outside of the White House Correspondents' Dinner in the Washington Hilton where U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet are attending. One injury is reported and a suspect is taken into custody.
A train crash kills at least 15 people and injures 84 others near Jakarta, Indonesia.
After a ransomware attack by the group ShinyHunters, the education platform Canvas operated by private company Instructure, goes offline, affecting thousands of educational institutions.
A shooting carried out by two gunmen at the Islamic Center of San Diego results in the deaths of five people, including the perpetrators.
A gas explosion at a coal mine in Changzhi, Shanxi, leaves at least 82 people dead.
A suicide bombing targeting a shuttle train in Quetta, Balochistan, killed at least 48 people and injured 98 others.
South African-American businessman Elon Musk becomes the first US$ trillionaire with the initial public offering of SpaceX.
Two helicopters collide mid-air in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, killing all 6 people on board, including American singer-songwriter Oliver Tree, Argentine YouTuber Gaspi, director and screenwriter Lucas A. Vignale, and Brazilian music producer Lucas Frota.
Two earthquakes strike Venezuela, leaving more than 2,200 people dead and dozens of others missing.
Around 50,000 Moroccan nationals storm the borders of Spanish enclaves in Africa, principally the city of Ceuta. As of August 1, 2026, 67 are confirmed to have died while crossing.
A series of large flash floods and debris flows along the Nepal–Tibet border and the Trishuli River, believed to have been caused by glacier collapse, stuck and destroyed numerous settlements, including the Gyirong checkpoint, and killed over 1,400 people, with over 5,800 reported missing.
21 Air Flight 7598, a Boeing 767 freighter operating on behalf of Amazon Air, overruns the runway upon landing at Miami International Airport, striking multiple ground vehicles, killing at least five people, and injuring five others.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 2026 in the Japanese calendar?
2026 was Reiwa 8 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 2026?
2026 is the Year of the Horse.
How old is someone born in 2026?
They turn 0 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 2026?
So far in 2026, the Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide with 316 seats in February's general election, and a major earthquake struck off the Sanriku coast in April. In July, the Reiwa 8 Kumamoto earthquake occurred, and in September Koja Genta was elected governor of Okinawa for the first time.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.