香港特别行政区 Hong Kong SAR (© leungchopan/Getty Images)

香港特别行政区 Hong Kong SAR (© leungchopan/Getty Images)

万家灯火 A sea of humanity

香港特别行政区

三十六年前的今天，世界迎来了第 50 亿人口。 现在地球人口已经达到 80 亿，而且还在不断增加，这个问题继续存在：我们会用完空间、食物和其他必要的资源吗？ 在今天，我们可以反思地球能够维持多少生命，以及我们个人和集体的生活如何影响我们的地方、国家和全球环境。

World Population Day

On July 11, 1987, the world is thought to have welcomed its 5-billionth person. Thirty-six years later, our population has reached 8 billion and is still rising. World Population Day, established by the UN, is a day to reflect on how much life Earth can sustain, and how our lives impact our environment.

Pictured here is Hong Kong, a city recognized as one of the world's most densely populated areas, with approximately 17,582 people per square mile. Though Hong Kong has a low birth rate, the density remains high as people live longer thanks to improvements in healthcare, a contributing factor to population increases worldwide. While this colorful night scene might appear glamorous, it is also an example of light pollution, which can disrupt ecosystems and affect our health—one of humanity's many impacts on the world around us.