We call earth the ‘blue planet’ because about 71 percent of its surface is covered by oceans. Every year on 8^th June, many people wear blue to celebrate World Oceans Day. This is a special day to understand more about our oceans, the challenges they face and why it is important to protect them.

What are the world’s oceans?

There are five oceans in the world and the Pacific Ocean is the largest of them all – larger than all the land in the world combined. The relatively small Arctic Ocean is frozen most of the year. But scientists believe most of the glaciers will soon disappear due to climate change.

Why do we need an ocean?

Without the ocean, humans, animals and plants cannot survive. We don’t know the exact numbers, but scientists believe that the oceans are home to 50–80 percent of life on earth – from giant whales to tiny fish, about 97 percent of all the water on earth is found in oceans. Because of the water cycle, the ocean provides us with rain and drinking water. And did you know that at least half of the oxygen we breathe comes from marine plants? The ocean traps carbon dioxide and provides us with fresh air.

How are we polluting our oceans?

There are millions and billions of pieces of plastic in our oceans. There are five giant sheets of plastic in the oceans around the world. One patch in particular, known as the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’, is 1.6 million square kilometers in size – that’s whopping seven times the size of the UK. Plastic in the ocean kills fish, birds, turtles and other marine life. It’s also unsafe for our health, because fish eat plastic particles and then humans eat fish.

What can we do to help our oceans?

There is so much to do there on World Oceans Day and every other day of the year. Whenever you are at the beach, be kind and respectful to the environment without harming any animals and take all the trash home. To participate in beach maintenance, you can collect trash to keep the beach clean and safe. If you don’t live near the beach, you can still help. Ask your friends and classmates to help make posters to let other people know how important the ocean is to all of us.