April 22 is celebrated worldwide as Earth Day. The purpose here is to protect the earth. The first Earth Day was celebrated in the United States on April 22, 1970, to raise awareness among people about the environment. The existence of the Earth depends on human intervention.

This year, Earth Day is being celebrated under the theme of ' Our Power, Our Planet ', calling everyone to unite for renewable energy and make an effort to triple the clean energy by 2030.

The origins of the Earth Day movement trace back to the US in 1970. It was co-organised by Denis Hayes, a student activist at the time and founder of EDO, according to earthday.org. Hayes was recruited by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson to organize campus teach-ins focused on environmental awareness. However, the challenge quickly became how to expand the initiative beyond college campuses to engage the wider public.

Their first major decision was choosing a date. They settled on April 22 — a Wednesday that year — strategically placed between Spring Break and final exams to maximize student participation. They also gave the event a name: “Earth Day”.

Antonique Smith, a Grammy-nominated singer, actress, and long-time climate activist, has been named the official Earth Day ambassador, this year, for Earth Day 2025.

Known for her powerful roles as Faith Evans in Notorious and Mimi Marquez in Rent on Broadway; she has both star power and a deep commitment to environmental justice. She is also the co-founder and CEO of the nonprofit Climate Revival, focusing on communities of faith and people of color to confront climate change. On Earth Day, Antonique is to contribute through a live performance of “Love Song to the Earth” in Times Square, New York City, in collaboration with EARTHDAY.ORG, OMMM, and Good News Planet.

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 in the United States and on either April 22 or the day the spring equinox occurs throughout the rest of the world. Environmental activism during the 1960s inspired Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson to create a national celebration uniting the environmental movement.

Every year, people across the world unite to mark the day, organizing events and raising awareness of environmental threats. Earth Day is celebrated with a mission of broadening, educating and activating the environmental movements worldwide.

In fact, Earth Day is an opportunity for people to contribute towards the alarming crisis faced by Earth and also to celebrate the green initiatives taken around the world. The crisis discussed ranges from increased plastic pollution and depletion of resources.

According to Earthday.org, the theme of World Earth Day 2025 is ‘Our Power, Our Planet’ with a focus on renewable energy. The website also features a global event map where anyone can register and participate in the events near them.

India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) holistically addresses all the aspects relating the Earth System Science for providing weather, climate, ocean, coastal state, hydrological and seismological services. The services include forecasts and warnings for various natural disasters like tropical cyclones, storm surge, floods, heat waves, thunderstorm and lightning; alerts for Tsunamis and monitoring of earthquakes etc. In addition, the ministry also has the mandate of making ocean survey and exploration for living and non-living resources and exploration of all the three poles (Arctic, Antarctic and Himalayas).

The services provided by the ministry are being effectively used by different agencies and state governments for saving human lives and minimizing damages due to natural disasters. The Ministry of Earth Sciences has been supporting celebration for the purpose, of spreading awareness and sensitizing the general public on the issues concerning to Earth and Earth Sciences in the country. It also supports celebration of the day at various places / schools / colleges / Institutions across the country with a special focus on girls students / differently abled students and aspirational districts.

Thus, across India, many thousands of students / volunteers participate in the activities comprising sowing the seed and seeing them grow as plants / plantation / slogan / rallys / paintings, etc. as part of the day.

Ten Simple things one can do to help protect the Earth:

Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Cut down on what you throw away. Follow the three "R's" to conserve natural resources and landfill space.

Volunteer -Volunteer for cleanups in your community. You can get involved in protecting your watershed, too.

Educate- When you further your own education, you can help others understand the importance and value of our natural resources.

Conserve water- The less water you use, the less runoff and wastewater that eventually end up in the ocean.

Choose sustainable- Learn how to make smart seafood choices at www.fishwatch.gov.

Shop wisely- Buy less plastic and bring a reusable shopping bag.

Use long-lasting light bulbs- Energy efficient light bulbs reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also flip the light switch off when you leave the room!

Plant a tree- Trees provide food and oxygen. They help save energy, clean the air, and help combat climate change.

Bike more. Drive less.

And, don't send chemicals into waterways. Choose non-toxic chemicals in the home and office.