Google 'Year in Search 2021': Tokyo Olympics, lockdown among top trending words in India

Google released its 'Year in Search 2021' on Wednesday listing the various topics users across the world searched for in this calendar year. Among its Indian users, Google saw the most searches for topics ranging from the Indian Premier League (IPL) to the government's website for vaccination CoWin. Meanwhile, the Tokyo Olympics, which saw India make history topped the segment for ‘news events’ searched by Indians. It was followed by Black Fungus and Afghanistan, which were hot topics of the year.

Tokyo Olympics topping the ‘news events’ segment in India comes as no surprise as Google India was the go-to place for many to keep updated on the events of the games event. Interestingly, Indian Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra topped the list for the most searched personalities in the country during the year. Moving on from sports, the Black Fungus infection was the second most searched item on the news events list following a sudden breakout during the worrying COVID-19 pandemic.

The top news events in the Google Year in Search 2021 were followed by the topic ‘Afghanistan news’, which became the third most searched one on the list. Indians keenly followed the developments in Afghanistan in the later months of 2021, as the extremist group Taliban took over Kabul after the country’s President Ashraf Ghani fled. The ‘West Bengal elections’ which took place earlier in the year came fourth on the Google India list. The election also gained attention following the unfortunate incidents of violence that broke out in the state as the incumbent All India Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee won the election by a large margin.

Cyclonic Storm Tauktae, a powerful, deadly and damaging tropical cyclone that originated in the Arabian Sea was the 5th most searched news event of 2021 in India. The Cyclone became the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in the Indian state of Gujarat since the 1998 Gujarat cyclone and one of the strongest tropical cyclones to ever affect the west coast of India wreaking havoc across the coastal regions. Cyclone Yaas that made landfall in Odisha and brought significant impacts to West Bengal during late May 2021 also made it to the top 10 list. The COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown, the Suez Canal Crisis caused by the Evergreen cargo ship and the Farmers protest, were among the other entries in the top 10 list of most searched news events on Google.

Google Year in Search 2021 - Full list

1. Tokyo Olympics

2. Black Fungus

3. Afghanistan news

4. West Bengal elections

5. Tropical cyclone Tauktae

6. Lockdown

7. Suez Canal Crisis

8. Farmers Protest

9. Bird Flu

10. Cyclone Yaas

Meanwhile, the global news search trends saw Afghanistan top the list, while AMC stocks, and the COVID-19 vaccine followed. The financial world seems to have had a big impact during the year as cryptocurrency token Dogecoin, Ethereum and GME stock were among the other most searched news events globally. Hurricane Ida was also among the most searched news along with the Georgia Senate Race. 

Image: PIXABAY/ AP