World Lake Day
Next: August 27, 2027
Still waters that keep us going.
The story
Where it comes from
World Lake Day was created by the UN General Assembly on 12 December 2024, in a resolution put forward by Indonesia and adopted by consensus, and was first observed in 2025. Its date honours the first World Lake Environment Conference, held in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, in 1984. The day asks us to value lakes, which supply water for drinking, farming and industry, shelter countless species of fish, plants and wildlife, and help keep the planet cool, yet are under pressure from overuse, pollution and a warming climate.
How it's celebrated
The UN invites governments, schools, scientists and communities to mark the day with activities that teach people about lakes and help protect and restore them, and the UN Environment Programme helps coordinate them. Anyone can take part by joining a lakeshore clean-up, finding out where their own drinking water comes from, or simply spending time by a lake and noticing the life it holds.
Did you know
- There are more than 117 million lakes on Earth, covering nearly 4% of its land surface.
- Lakes hold about 90% of the unfrozen fresh water on the planet's surface.
- Lake Baikal in Siberia is the oldest and deepest lake in the world, about 25 million years old and 1,700 metres deep.
Coming up next
- Goethe's Birthday · August 28, 2027
- Faraday Makes Electricity from Magnetism · August 29, 2027
- National Sports Day (India) · August 29, 2027
- Mary Shelley's Birthday · August 30, 2027
- Hari Merdeka · August 31, 2027
- International Day for People of African Descent · August 31, 2027