World Environment Day 2021 Date, History, Themes, Host Cities, Anthem: World Environment Day (WED) is an annual celebration which is celebrated on the 5th of June and is the United Nation’s principal vehicle in order to encourage the awareness and action for the protection of our environment.
What is World Environment Day?
The first-ever event of World Environment Day was held in the year 1974, it has been a flagship campaign that raises awareness on increasing environmental issues or concerns regarding marine pollution, human overpopulation, global warming, as well as sustainable consumption and wildlife crime.
When is World Environment Day this year?
This year in 2021, World Environment Day is going to be held on Wednesday, 5th June 2021.
What is the History of World Environment Day?
World Environment Day [WED] was formed by the UN General Assembly in the year 1972 on the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, bring about from consultations on the incorporation of human interactions and the environment.
Just after two years, in 1974 the first WED was celebrated with the theme “Only One Earth”. Even though the celebration of WED has been held yearly since the year 1974, in 1987 the idea for turning the center of these events through choosing different host countries to bring into being.
World Environment Day 2021 Celebration And Theme
This year in 2021, World Environment Day is going to be hosted by China and the theme for the day will be “Air Pollution”. On this day various activities, debates, rallies, events, and much more will be held in order to raise awareness about the Air Pollution concern.
As per the World Health Organization report regarding Air Pollution concern stated that:
- There are 4.2 million deaths every year as a result of exposure to ambient (outdoor) air pollution
- There are 3.8 million deaths reported each year as a result of household exposure to smoke from dirty cookstoves as well as fuels.
- There are a total number of 91% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality exceeds WHO guideline limits
World Environment Day Themes
Each year, World Environment Day is celebrated with a specific theme and is hosted by different cities. Here is the list of all the themes of World Environment Day from the year 1974 to 2019.
|
Year |
Theme |
|
1974 |
Only one Earth during Expo ’74 |
|
1975 |
Human Settlements |
|
1976 |
Water: Vital Resource for Life |
|
1977 |
Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation |
|
1978 |
Development Without Destruction |
|
1979 |
Only One Future for Our Children – Development Without Destruction |
|
1980 |
A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development Without Destruction |
|
1981 |
Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains |
|
1982 |
Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns) |
|
1983 |
Managing and Disposing of Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy |
|
1984 |
Desertification |
|
1985 |
Youth: Population and the Environment |
|
1986 |
A Tree for Peace |
|
1987 |
Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof |
|
1988 |
When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last |
|
1989 |
Global Warming; Global Warning |
|
1990 |
Children and the Environment |
|
1991 |
Climate Change. Need for Global Partnership |
|
1992 |
Only One Earth, Care, and Share |
|
1993 |
Poverty and the Environment – Breaking the Vicious Circle |
|
1994 |
One Earth One Family |
|
1995 |
We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment |
|
1996 |
Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home |
|
1997 |
For Life on Earth |
|
1998 |
For Life on Earth – Save Our Seas |
|
1999 |
Our Earth – Our Future – Just Save It! |
|
2000 |
The Environment Millennium – Time to Act |
|
2001 |
Connect with the World Wide Web of Life |
|
2002 |
Give Earth a Chance |
|
2003 |
Water – Two Billion People are Dying for It! |
|
2004 |
Wanted! Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive? |
|
2005 |
Green Cities – Plan for the Planet! |
|
2006 |
Deserts and Desertification – Don’t Desert Drylands! |
|
2007 |
Melting Ice – a Hot Topic? |
|
2008 |
Kick The Habit – Towards A Low Carbon Economy |
|
2009 |
Your Planet Needs You-Unite to Combat Climate Change |
|
2010 |
Many Species. One Planet. One Future |
|
2011 |
Forests: Nature at your Service |
|
2012 |
Green Economy: Does it include you? |
|
2013 |
Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint |
|
2014 |
Raise your voice, not the sea level |
|
2015 |
Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care. |
|
2016 |
Zero Tolerance for the Illegal Wildlife trade |
|
2017 |
Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator |
|
2018 |
Beat Plastic Pollution |
|
2019 |
Air Pollution |
|
2020 |
Time for Nature |
World Environment Day Host Cities
World Environment Day is celebrated every year and is hosted by various different cities each year; here is the list of all the cities that have hosted the celebration of World Environment Day:
|
Year |
Host city |
|
1974 |
Spokane, United States |
|
1975 |
Dhaka, Bangladesh |
|
1976 |
Ontario, Canada |
|
1977 |
Sylhet, Bangladesh |
|
1978 |
Sylhet, Bangladesh |
|
1979 |
Sylhet, Bangladesh |
|
1980 |
Sylhet, Bangladesh |
|
1981 |
Sylhet, Bangladesh |
|
1982 |
Dhaka, Bangladesh |
|
1983 |
Sylhet, Bangladesh |
|
1984 |
Rajshahi, Bangladesh |
|
1985 |
Islamabad, Pakistan |
|
1986 |
Ontario, Canada |
|
1987 |
Nairobi, Kenya |
|
1988 |
Bangkok, Thailand |
|
1989 |
Brussels, Belgium |
|
1990 |
Mexico City, Mexico |
|
1991 |
Stockholm, Sweden |
|
1992 |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
|
1993 |
Beijing, People’s Republic of China |
|
1994 |
London, United Kingdom |
|
1995 |
Pretoria, South Africa |
|
1996 |
Istanbul, Turkey |
|
1997 |
Seoul, Republic of Korea |
|
1998 |
Moscow, Russian Federation |
|
1999 |
Tokyo, Japan |
|
2000 |
Adelaide, Australia |
|
2001 |
Torino, Italy and Havana, Cuba |
|
2002 |
Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China |
|
2003 |
Beirut, Lebanon |
|
2004 |
Barcelona, Spain |
|
2005 |
San Francisco, United States |
|
2006 |
Algiers, Algeria |
|
2007 |
London, England |
|
2008 |
Wellington, New Zealand |
|
2009 |
Mexico City, Mexico |
|
2010 |
Rangpur, Bangladesh |
|
2011 |
New Delhi, India |
|
2012 |
Brasilia, Brazil |
|
2013 |
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
|
2014 |
Bridgetown, Barbados |
|
2015 |
Rome, Italy |
|
2016 |
Luanda, Angola |
|
2017 |
Ottawa, Canada |
|
2018 |
New Delhi, India |
|
2019 |
China |
|
2020 |
Colombia |
World Environment Day Anthem
An Earth Anthem which is penned by poet Abhay K is sung in order to celebrate World Environment Day. Here is the World Environment Day Anthem:
Our cosmic oasis, cosmic blue pearl
the most beautiful planet in the universe
all the continents and the oceans
United we stand as flora and fauna
United we stand as species of one earth
different cultures, beliefs, and ways
we are humans, the earth is our home
all the people and the nations of the world
all for one and one for all
United we unfurl the blue flag.
Final Verdict
World Environment Day is celebrated to spread awareness about conserving our Mother Nature as well as burning issues such as Climate change, Water Pollution, Air Pollution, overpopulation, Global Warming, and every other issue that affects our environment. The first Environment Day was observed in 1974, hosted by the United States of America with the Theme of ‘Only One Earth’. This year’s World Environment Day 2021 Theme is ‘Ecosystem Restoration’ that will Focus on Retrieving or Recovering Our Ecosystems and assist the Unmanaged Natural Resources.
