World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on the 5th of June every year. It is the United Nation’s principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. This year the theme is, ‘Beat the air pollution’.
The theme is apt as almost every country is battles to breathe fresh air and is forced to cover their faces with the mask.
Nagpur itself is getting hotter day by day and the temperature rise is a proof that global warming is real.
Prachi Mahurkar, managing partner of ‘Punarnava’, an organisation that spreads awareness about the environment from time to time, expressed that the temperature of the city is increasing and there are two important reasons behind it.
The water-bodies in and around Nagpur have vanished with time. She tells there are 11 such water bodies, Wadi lake being the prominent one. Wetlands are important in maintaining the temperature.
Also, another important thing is, small shrubs and trees grow near the tar roads but they do not grow near cement roads. And cement roads which do not even allow the percolation of water are the reason that the plants cannot survive near those.
These two are the major factors of increasing temperature in the city.
Mahurkar explains that every tree has a micro-climate of its own and every tree has something of its own to offer two the environment.
She said that in the troubled times when not cutting the existing trees, we are supposed to plant five more plants, we are chopping of the existing full-grown trees and not even planting five saplings in return.
Apart from this felling of trees for different reasons there are fires that are in our control but we don’t stop them.
The burning of garbage in almost every area can be stopped, but no measures are taken for the same.
Mahurkar also opined that numerous trees were chopped off for the construction of Nagpur metro and are one of the reasons that the temperature can be seen rising.
In Prachi Mahurkar’s opinion things must be addressed at Mohalla level first, instead of taking big projects that deliver nothing but the promises.
She also added that we need to understand that whatever we do in Nagpur, felling of trees, construction, burning of garbage, land and trees affects a global phenomenon. For this, education and awareness is the need of the hour.
First held in 1974, World Environment Day has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. WED has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, WED has a new theme that major corporations, NGOs, communities, governments and celebrities worldwide adopt to advocate environmental causes.
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