New Delhi | Jagran Lifestyle Desk: Earth Hour, the annual practice to switch off the lights for one hour was observed on March 26, 2022, beginning 8:30 PM. Started by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in 2007 with an aim to create awareness among people about climate change, on this day people turn off the lights of their homes in order to show solidarity with the cause of conservation of planet earth. The event is observed on the last Saturday of March every year. In India, Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi had its lights shut off starting 8:30 PM to observe the Earth Hour. Lights at India Gate too were dimmed to observe the significant annual moment. 

The theme of Earth Hour 2022

This year, the theme of Earth Hour is ‘Shape Our Future'. This theme symbolizes that it is up to us to shape our future by bringing attention to the critical issues our planet is facing today.

Earth Hour 2021 theme was Climate Change to Save Earth” and the message was that preventing climate change is the only way to save Earth. In 2020, the theme was ‘Climate Action and Sustainable Development’ and the focus was again on climate change and developing sustainably. Reduce, Reuse, Change the Way We Live was the theme in 2019, and the main focus was promoting recycling and reusing. The first year of Earth Hour focused on the theme We’ve Turned the Lights Out. Now it’s Your Turn, and it encouraged people for a simple act – turn off the lights.

World Wildlife Fund also announced the date an time of Earth Hour 2022 on their social media accounts. 

 

History of Earth Hour

The first Earth Hour event was held on 31 March 2007 in Sydney, Australia. More than 2.2 million individuals and 2,000 businesses turned their lights out for one hour in the first Earth Hour event. Now more than 190 countries around the globe participate in this event to ensure the bright future of the people and the planet. In 2007, people were encouraged to switch off their lights to draw attention to climate change.

According to the WWF website, Earth Hour has also gone far beyond the symbolic action of switching off - it has become a catalyst for positive environmental impact, driving major legislative changes by harnessing the power of the people and collective action.

Click on this link for the full coverage of Earth Hour.