Cities on Australia’s east coast were among the first in the world to turn lights out on Saturday for the 10th annual Earth Hour, a global lights out event created to highlight the threat from climate change.
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A spokesman for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Russia, Lyudmila Lyagushkina, noted that the event is set to take place in many cities across Russia and called on organizers to cancel the entertainment activities in all regions. District Collector Biju Prabhakar led the candlelight vigil. A magic show “Harithajaalam” by Indra Ajith on the theme of energy conservation was held at Attingal, Nedumangad, and Neyyattinkara.
Over 150 buildings in Singapore dimmed their lights for an hour, while Taipei’s 101 gradually turned lights off for one hour and the city’s four historical gates and bridges also went dark. Our world needs to change, and we need to change it.
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In Mumbai several government and private buildings, public landmarks as well as common citizens contributed to “cooling” the Earth by switching off lights for an hour between 830PM and 930PM.
“The past 24 hours have shown us yet again the impact we can achieve when we unite for a cause”, said Siddarth Das, Executive Director, Earth Hour Global.
Das said momentum towards climate action was building in the wake of the global climate talks in Paris previous year.
Earth Hour, which launched in Sydney in 2007, is an annual WWF-led event meant to draw attention to the need for action on climate change. The so-called Paris Agreement seeks to limit global warming to “well below” two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels, with a more ambitious target of 1.5C if possible.
“Earth Hour reminds us that while people are on the frontline of climate change, they are also our first line of defence”. The group sponsors the event and says people in 178 countries and territories had planned to participate.
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From the Greek Parthenon to France’s Eiffel Tower, iconic buildings went dark between 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. local time.
