21st century

===Human-made disasters===
[[File:Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling unit on fire 2010.jpg|thumb|Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling unit in the Gulf of Mexico on fire in 2010]]
* On 27 July 2002, a [[Sukhoi Su-27]] fighter [[Sknyliv airshow disaster|crashes]] at an [[air show]] in [[Ukraine]], killing 77 and injuring more than 100, making it the worst air show disaster in history.
* On 1 February 2003, at the conclusion of the ''[[STS-107]]'' mission, the [[Space Shuttle]] ''[[Space Shuttle Columbia|Columbia]]'' [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|disintegrates during reentry]] over [[Texas]], killing all seven astronauts on board.
* The [[Black Saturday bushfires]] – the deadliest [[bushfires in Australia]]n history took place across the [[Australia]]n [[Australian state|state]] of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] on 7 February 2009, during extreme bushfire-weather conditions, resulting in 173 people killed, more than 500 injured, and around 7,500 homeless. The fires came after [[Melbourne, Australia|Melbourne]] recorded the [[Early 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave|highest-ever temperature]] (46.4&nbsp;°C, 115&nbsp;°F) of any capital city in Australia. The majority of the fires were ignited by either fallen or clashing power lines or deliberately lit.
* On 10 April 2010, Polish President [[Lech Kaczyński]], his wife and 94 other people, including dozens of government officials, are killed in [[2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash|a plane crash]].
* On 20 April 2010, an explosion on the ''[[Deepwater Horizon]]'' offshore [[drilling rig]], operating in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] off the coast of [[Louisiana]], left eleven crewmen dead and resulted in a fire that sank the rig and caused a massive-scale [[oil spill]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126468782 |title=BP Will Pay For Gulf Oil Spill Disaster, CEO Says|publisher = NPR|date=3 May 2010 |access-date=3 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504210425/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126468782| archive-date= 4 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> that may become one of the worst environmental disasters in [[United States]] history.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126410895 "Choppy Seas Hinder Effort To Contain Oil Spill"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913120926/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126410895 |date=13 September 2020}}, ''National Public Radio'', 30 April 2010</ref> On 18 June 2010, oceanographer John Kessler said that the crude gushing from the well contains 40 percent methane, compared to about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits. Methane is a natural gas that could potentially suffocate marine life and create "dead zones" where oxygen is so depleted that nothing lives. "This is the most vigorous methane eruption in modern human history," Kessler said.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37778190 |title=Oil spill full of methane, adding new concerns |publisher=msnbc |date=18 June 2010 |access-date=20 June 2010 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923231316/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37778190 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 20 June an internal BP document was released by Congress revealing that BP estimated the flow could be as much as {{convert|100000|oilbbl|USgal m3|abbr=off}} per day under the circumstances that existed since 20 April blowout.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-spill-markey-idUSTRE65J1WI20100620 |title=Document Shows BP Estimates Spill up to 100,000 Bpd |work=ABC News |date=20 June 2010 |access-date=20 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100624004525/http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=10964694 |archive-date=24 June 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://globalwarming.house.gov/files/WEB/flowrateBP.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704200718/http://globalwarming.house.gov/files/WEB/flowrateBP.pdf |archive-date=4 July 2010 |title=Seafloor Exit  |access-date=14 May 2013}}</ref>