Earth Day: Google Doodle reminds us all of the beauty of the planet

Google commemorated this year's Earth Day in its own style. The search giant's home page has been updated with a series of five Doodles, each of which represents one of the earth's five major biomes — large, naturally-occurring communities of flora and fauna occupying major habitats. The Doodles showcased on Google.com were created by artist Sophia Diao.

One of five Doodles appear randomly every time a user visits or refreshes the Google homepage. The Google logo is hiding in plain sight in the Earth Day Doodles, and each Doodle shows the natural beauty of this fragile planet.

"The vastness of Earth's diversity makes it an intimidating topic, but in the end I chose to highlight Earth's five major biomes: the tundra, forest, grasslands, desert, and coral reefs. In each illustration, you'll find one animal who's been singled out for their 15 minutes of fame," Diao wrote on Google's official Doodle blog on Friday.

Nearly 20 million people had attended the first Earth Day, organised by U.S. Senator Gaylor Nelson in 1970. Earth Day is celebrated across nations and 175 countries around the world recognise this event. The United Nations in 2009 assigned April 22 as International Earth Day, celebrated annually to dedicate a day to create awareness of environmental protection. 

"It's a day to reflect," Diao wrote. "I am personally in awe of nature's persistence and creativity. Our planet — with its alternate scorching heat and bitter cold, its jagged peaks and deep trenches — may not always be kind to its inhabitants. Yet somehow the flora and fauna of Earth manage to thrive. On a day like this, we remember and celebrate our home in this great and stunning ecosystem."

Google marks important occasions through its Doodles — logos on the homepage — and has been celebrating Earth Day every year for the last 16 years, News18 reported. Last year, the web giant posted a quiz to tell users about which animal they are and encouraged people to make donations to animal welfare organisations.

Here are the Doodles that Google showcased on its homepage for this year's Earth Day:

"We live on a beautiful planet, and it's the only one we've got," Diao concludes with a strong message.