World Environment Day is a United Nations holiday commemorated annually on June 5. The purpose of this holiday is to raise awareness about the need to take action to protect our planet and the environment.
On this day, people are encouraged to do something beneficial for the Earth, be it alone or with friends, the important thing is to take action to make our planet a better place.
World Environment Day is not a public holiday so businesses and shops will remain open.
Background
In 1972, during the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, the UN General Assembly discussed how it was important to have people interact with and care for the environment, and tackle issues such as deforestation, overpopulation, pollution and climate change. Thus, World Environment Day was established, to bring the importance of environmental preservation to the forefront.
The first World Environment Day was observed in 1974, and the theme was "Only One Earth". Since then, every year there is a different theme for the day that stresses the importance of particular environmental issues. From 1987, a different country is chosen to host the day's activities every year.
Different themes have included "Global Warming" in 1989, with activities held in Brussels, in 2007 the theme was "Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?" and celebrations were hosted by London, and more recently, in 2019, the theme was "Beat air Pollution" and the host country was China.
Things to do on World Environment Day
Recycling is the easiest way you can help in helping the environment. It is something that most households and people around the world already do, and it is as simple as separating normal trash, plastic, paper, and glass and putting them in their specific bins. However, it is not enough to do this at home, and even when we're out we should be aware of our trash and find recycling bins instead of putting it all in one common bin.
One activity you can organize with friends and family is planting trees in your backyards. This will help fight pollution, as not only trees absorb and filter pollutant gases, but also homes with trees in their gardens cut air conditioning needs by 50%, which in turn helps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.