Google today celebrates Earth Day with an animated doodle.

NEW DELHI: Google on Monday came out with an animated doodle to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the Earth Day

Earth Day is observed every year on April 22 to create awareness among the masses on environmental issues.

Events are held across the world to sensitize people about the need to protect our environment.

John McConnell in 1969 at the UNESCO Conference in San Fransisco first proposed the idea to observe Earth Day on March 21. But a month later, Gaylord Nelso, US Senator from Wisconsin, proposed April 22 as the date for observing Earth Day.

Nelson was also a conservationist and an environmental activist and he pushed for Earth Day celebration as a national teach-in on environmental issues after the frightful oil spill off the coast in 1969.

Every year millions of people across the globe come together to celebrate the Earth Day.

Non-profit organizations, governments, schools and communities hold several interactive programmes and activities to create awareness about the need to protect environment.

The Earth Day 2013 doodle released by Google features a landscape and a static sun with a featured button inset inside.

When clicked on the doodle's featured button, the sun starts moving and gradually sets in the west.

As the sun sets, the moon rises in the glittering sky. The moon can be seen in different phases as it moves across the sky.

The doodle also features the cycle of seasons - spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Earth Day 2013 is the best time to let people know about the need to conserve nature and create more awareness.

MANISH KUMAR 
PGDM 2nd