WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
5th June, 2007

Origin : The United Nations General Assembly established the World Environment Day (WED) in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. It is commemorated each year on 5th June.


Objective : W.E.D. is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.

Theme for World Environment Day 2007 : Every year United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) decides a theme related to a burning current environmental issue so as to center the WED celebrations around the theme.

The WED Theme for 2007 is
“Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?”
It focuses on the effects that climate change is having on polar ecosystems and communities, and the ensuing consequences around the world.



Climate change and global warming : Climate change refers to the variation in the Earth’s global climate or in regional climates over time. Human activities such as burning of fossil fuel (coal, crude oil, natural gas, etc.) have led to generation and build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluoroscarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). These greenhouse gases absorb the radiations from the sun and leads to warming of the earth’s atmosphere. Excessive build up of these greenhouse gases is resulting into increase of earth’s average temperature, also called as, Global Warming.


The impacts of the Global Warming on the earth include

a. The CO2 concentration is expected to increase between 540 to 970 parts per million (ppm) by 2100 compared to a pre-industrial level of about 280 ppm. The 2006 level was about 380 ppm.

b. The world’s average surface temperature has increased by around 0.74°C over the past 100 years (1906 – 2005). A warming of about 0.2°C is projected for each of the next two decades.

c. Melting of ice caps / glaciers – Glaciers in Greenland, Alaska, the Himalayas and the Antarctic Peninsula are retreating. Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean during summer is disappearing. Permafrost (permanently frozen soil) in Canada, Alaska and Siberia is melting at an alarming rate.

d. The sea-level may rise between 110 to 770 mm by 2100 due to ocean expansion and glacier melt. (Compared to 1989 – 1999 levels).

e. 634 million people live in the threatened coastal areas world-wide, areas at less than 33 feet above sea level.

f. China is most at risk with 143 million people living by the coast, followed by India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Egypt and the US.

g. Warmer water in the oceans pumps more energy into tropical storms, making them more intense and potentially more destructive.

h. Warmer temperatures increase the energy of the climatic system and lead to more intense rainfall at some times and in some areas.

i. Warmer temperatures could also increase the probability of drought. Greater evaporations, particularly during summer and fall, could exacerbate drought conditions and increase the risk of wildfires.

j. Death rates for poor from global warming-related illnesses, such as malnutrition, diarrhea, malaria will rise.

k. Polar bears in the wild and other animals will be pushed to extinction.

l. By 2080, between 1.1. and 3.2 billion people will face water shortages, and 200 to 600 million will face extreme hunger.

m. A temperature rise of 1-2 degrees Centigrade would see one third of the earth’s species either displaced or wiped out.