World Earth Day 2024: Get to know the date, history, theme and significance

• World Earth Day, also known as International Mother Earth Day, is a globally recognised event dedicated to raising awareness and promoting the sustainability of our planet.

Key highlights

• Earth Day, celebrated every year on April 22nd, is a global movement that began in 1970 (marking its 54th year in 2024).
• It started in the US with millions protesting environmental damage caused by events like the Santa Barbara oil spill.
• The United Nations officially recognized Earth Day in 2009.
• Now celebrated in 192 countries and organized by Earthday.org

Objective

• It aims to be the world's biggest environmental movement.
• The purpose of Earth Day is to encourage everyone to work together to fix the planet's ecosystems, fight climate change, and protect the variety of life on Earth.
• This global effort has seen success, like the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gases being signed on Earth Day 2016.
• This year's theme, "Planet vs. Plastics," highlights the growing problem of plastic pollution, which now reaches over 380 million tons a year worldwide.
• It emphasizes the danger plastic poses to our planet and health, calling for a dramatic reduction in plastic production by 2040.

Prelims takeaway

• WWF
• Earth day