The United Nations(UN)’s International Mother Earth Day, also known as “Earth Day” is annually observed across the globe on 22nd April to create awareness about humanity’s relationship with the natural world. The day highlights the importance of the health of Mother Earth and its effects on Humanity’s health.
- 22nd April 2023 marks the 53rd anniversary of the Earth Day.
- According to Earthday.org, The theme of Earth Day 2023 is “Invest in our Planet“
Significance:
The International Mother Earth Day 2023 is observed within the celebration of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).
Background:
The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution on 22nd April 2009 and proclaimed the 22nd April of every year as the International Mother Earth Day.
Origin:
The origin of International Mother Earth Day dates back to the 1969 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) Conference held in San Francisco, United States of America (USA), during which, Peace activist John McConnell from the USA, proposed the global observance “the Earth Day” to celebrate the Earth’s life and beauty.
- Since 1970, 22nd April has been observed as Earth Day by the EARTHDAY.ORG in more than 190 countries.
Why April 22?
The day (22nd April) marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.
Observance:
The UN celebrates the observance of Earth Day through the Harmony with Nature initiative, a platform for global sustainable development that celebrates annually an interactive dialogue on International Mother Earth Day.
WMO released climate report ahead of Earth Day: Past 8 years ‘warmest on record
According to the State of the Global Climate 2022, the annual report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), released ahead of Earth Day 2023(April 22), the 8 years, 2015-2022 were the warmest in the instrumental record back to 1850, despite the cooling impact of three consecutive years of a cooling La Niña. 2022 was the 5th or 6th warmest year.
- The global mean temperature in 2022 was 1.15 [1.02 to 1.28] degree Celsius (°C) above the 1850-1900 average.
Note:
i.La Niña refers to the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific.
ii.La Nina represents the cool phase of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.
iii.“triple-dip” La Niña (3 consecutive La Niña) has happened only 3 times in the past 50 years.
Key Points:
The concentration of greenhouse gases:
In 2021, the concentration of greenhouse gases increased, the Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration was at 415.7 parts per million globally, which is 149% of the pre-industrial level. Methane meanwhile stood at 262% and nitrous oxide at 124%.
Melting of Glaciers:
The melting of glaciers and sea level rise, which reached record levels in 2022 – will continue to up to thousands of years.
In 2022, the glaciers across the globe melted at a drastic speed, with global sea levels rising at double the pace they did two decades ago.
- Between October 2021 and October 2022, some of the glaciers lost up to 1.3 meters of average thickness.
Sea Ice:
The sea ice in Antarctica dropped to 1.92 million km2 on 25th February 2022, the lowest level on record and almost 1 million km2 below the long-term (1991-2020) mean. For the rest of the year, it was continuously below average, with record lows in June and July.
Arctic sea ice in September at the end of the summer melt tied for the 11th lowest monthly minimum ice extent in the satellite record.
Ocean Heat:
Ocean heat content reached a new observed record high in 2022. In the past 2 decades, the ocean warming rate has been high. Around 58% of the ocean surface experienced at least one marine heatwave during 2022.
