Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22 to raise awareness about our planet that sustains life. Mankind has a very important role in protecting nature and to have a day as a reminder to the steps we are taking in this direction is welcome by all communities. Earth Day started out as a political movement back in the United States of America. In 1970, the Senator of Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson and activist John McConnell asked their countrymen to join demonstrations for protection of our ecosystem. John McConnell came up with the Earth Day proclamation and anyone part of it had to bear responsibilities to be sensitive to mother nature. Earth Day 2020: From Decrease in Pollution to Birds & Animals Frequenting Cities, 4 Instances That Prove the Planet is Healing During Coronavirus Lockdown.

Each year the Earth Day comes up with a theme and for the year 2020, the theme chosen is climate action. This being the 50th anniversary of the Earth Day, climate action has been deliberately chosen as the theme since climate change is the biggest threat to human existence currently. International Mother Earth Day 2020 HD Images & Wallpapers For Free Download Online: Wish Happy Earth Day With WhatsApp Messages And Facebook Greetings.

On World Earth Day, we take a look at some of the interesting facts surrounding our planet.

  • We all know Earth is spherical in shape but it is not a perfect sphere. Due to opposite centrifugal forces working at the equator, there is a bulge like a spare tire around it.

  • The age of the Earth is around 4.54 billion years and the finding is based on the dating of old rocks and meteorites discovered on the surface of the planet.

  • A microbial geneticist, Shil DasSarma believes the earth used to be Violet in colour as compared to its greenish look today. Ancient microbes he says used molecules other than chlorophyll during photosynthesis which gave it a purple spectrum.

  • A single source of lightning can heat the air around the earth to around 30,000 degrees Celsius which creates a massive electric field and an ultimate boom. There are about 6000 lightning flashes per minute around the earth.

  • Every day around 100 tons of interplanetary particles in the form of dust drifts down the earth surface.

  • Our current configuration of planets was once a single unit or a supercontinent. The most recent supercontinent was the Pangaea which started breaking apart 200 million years ago and formed the setup we have today.

  • There are many earth-like planets orbiting stars although it is not yet proved whether life exists on the planet.

  • There are some spots in the Atacama deserts of Chile and Peru where rainfall has never been recorded since its inception. It is the driest place on the planet.

  • Around 56534 people live in 836330 square mile area in Greenland making it the land with most open spaces.

  • The Pacific Ocean with a size of 155 million square kilometres is so big that all the seven planets can fit into it.

  • The world’s largest mountain is the mid-ocean ridge which is an underwater chain of volcanoes spanning 65,000 kilometres.

  • There are crater lakes – Nyos, Monoun and Kivu present in Cameroon and the border of Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe that sit above the volcanic earth and could explode.

With the global lockdown in progress due to the COVID 19 outbreak, the Earth Day celebrations will be predominantly digital this year. There are plenty of initiatives likes plantation, organic farming that can be taken up sitting at homes as part of Earth Day celebrations. We wish everyone a Happy Earth Day!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2020 10:56 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).