2019 – Posted in: Press Information Bureau

World Environment Day

(Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change)

WHAT

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will soon launch an initiative called School Nursery across the country in which school kids will plant a seed, nurture the sapling and on his/her annual result would take the plant to be a trophy.

#SelfieWithSapling – a campaign launched today.

World Environment Day is the biggest annual event for positive environmental action and takes place every year on 5th June.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Union Minister stressed that ‘Jan Bhagidari’ is integral towards tackling the environmental issues and the environment protection has to be a people’s movement.
For the amount of oxygen an individual requires, he should plant at least 8-10 saplings in his lifespan.
Union Minister also praised the commitment of Union Transport Minister Shri Nitin Gakari for pledging to plant 125 crore trees on both sides of National Highways.
The World Environment Day (WED) urges governments, industries, communities and individuals to come together to explore renewable energy, green technologies and improve air quality in cities and regions across the world.
The celebration of this day provides us with an opportunity to broaden the basis for an enlightened opinion in preserving and enhancing the environment.

THEME

World Environment Day 2019 is being hosted by China this year with a theme of “Air Pollution”.

RESPONSIBLE FACTORS

Airborne pollutants are responsible for about one third of deaths from stroke, chronic respiratory disease, and lung cancer, as well as one quarter of deaths from heart attack.
Air pollution is also fundamentally altering our climate, with profound impacts on the health of the planet.
India hosted the last year’s World Environment Day emphasizing on prevention of ‘Plastic Pollution’.

AIR POLLUTION FACTS

92 percent of people worldwide do not breathe clean air.
Air pollution costs the global economy $5 trillion every year in welfare costs
Ground-level ozone pollution is expected to reduce staple crop yields by 26 percent by 2030.

NATIONAL CLEAN AIR PROGRAMME

India has formulated and launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

This is a long term and time bound national level strategy to tackle the increasing pollution problem across the country.
The objective of NCAP is comprehensive plan for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution besides augmenting the air quality monitoring network.
The tentative national level target is reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 20% – 30% by 2024.
The focus of this year WED is on the identified 102 Non attainment cities across the country.

Source: PIB

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