WORLD OCEAN DAY

World Oceans Day is an international day celebrated annually on June 8. The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Rio de Janeiro. "World Oceans Day" was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008.

History of the oceans:

The contemporary concept of world ocean was coined in the early 20th century by the Russian oceanographer Yuly Shokalsky to refer to the continuous ocean that covers and surrounds most of the Earth. The word ocean comes from the Latin oceanus, which means "the great river or sea that surrounds the disk of the Earth."

The ocean (also sea or world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers about 70.8% of the Earth's surface and contains 97% of the Earth's water. Separate names are used to identify five different areas of the ocean: Pacific (largest), Atlantic, Indian, South (Antarctica), and Arctic (smallest).

Impact of the lack of human awareness on the oceans:

The oceans are also facing tremendous disruption from human action, from altered temperature and circulation to overfishing, acidification and plastic pollution. Overfishing is a serious problem in many parts of the world.

Humans have increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to levels that have caused ocean acidification and warming, among other negative climate-related effects.

The world has woken up to the millions of tons of plastic that have entered the ocean in the last 100 years. The impacts of this scourge will last much longer.

Importance of World Oceans Day:

World Oceans Day serves as a reminder to all of the importance of the oceans in our daily lives. They are the lungs of the planet, a key source of food and medicine, and an essential component of the ecosystem. The ocean is changing rapidly. It is heating up, becoming more acidic and losing sea ice. Sea levels are rising. It is overexploited and more polluted by chemicals and noise. These changes will have impacts on agriculture, fisheries, water, food, energy supply, coastal infrastructure, transportation, and natural disasters such as tsunamis and extreme weather.