World Environment Day Confined Digitally Amid COVID-19

Every year, World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 to raise awareness and to guide people on how they can save the environment but this year’s event is different from the previous years due to coronavirus pandemic. Amid this crisis, people around the world are stuck in the four walls of their homes due to lockdown because of which planting saplings may not be performed in India and other parts of the world, as gatherings are prohibited due to fear of coronavirus. On this day, the government, celebrities and people around the world take pledge and put their efforts into building the environment. This year’s celebrations are expected to be restrained and confined to online seminars and activities. Lakhs of people are expected to take part in online events and seminars organised by various organisations including NGOs.

Studies have revealed that lockdown imposed a positive impact on the environment. Air pollution has dropped significantly, in the absence of boats water has cleared up, oceans are recovering and marine life is thriving. Animals have been spotted moving freely where once they would not dare to go and plants are growing better because of clean air and water. This all has happened due to the lack of human interference which in turn can be attributed to COVID-19.

World Environment Day was founded by the UN General Assembly in 1972 on the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. According to the United Nations, recent events from bushfires in the forest of Brazil, the United States and Australia to locusts’ swarm attacks across East Africa and India to now life-threatening global disease pandemic authenticated the interdependence of humans and the cycle of life, in which they exist. The theme for World Environment Day 2020 is biodiversity and this year’s hosts for the World Environment Day are Germany and Colombia.

Ahead of World Environment Day, Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar started  #OneWishForTheEarth campaign. She urged her peers and colleagues to spread awareness about nature conservation. She is a climate activist and runs her own non-profit initiative called Climate Warrior that celebrates real-life heroes working towards the cause of climate change. Her campaign received support from megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar on Twitter and many other B-town actors supported and actively participated in the campaign.