It’s World Water Day today. The day was established to be celebrated as an annual event in the year 1993 by the decision of the United Nations General Assembly. Water is an essential building block of life. It is more than just an essential to quench thirst or protect health. Water is vital for creating jobs and supporting economic, social, and human development.

In an attempt to commemorate 100,915 km of its coastline, Norway has finalised the new design of banknote back in 2014. The “Land and Sea” themed notes are set to be printed in 2019. The patterns depict the coast, the horizon and the motif.

The fronts of the notes will be developed on the basis of the proposal from The Metric System and Terje Tonnessen. The cubic patterns on the reverse side represent pixels and mosaics. The organic pattern is an abstraction of the sea. Both the cubic and organic patterns follow the Beaufort scale as an expression of wind speed. This affects the waves in the sea.

On the lowest denomination note, the wind is light, and there are short cubic forms and long, gentle waves in the organic pattern. On the highest denomination note, the wind is strong and creates elongated rectangular forms and short waves.

While the reverse will depict the cubic design of winds and waves, the obverse of the notes will depict the country’s various aspects like the marine life, the country's Viking era with a Nordic ship, lighthouse, ships and sea.

Isn’t it a fitting tribute to our “life” on earth!

Image courtesy: Norges Bank