The tenth edition of the Earth Hour was observed globally on 19 March 2016 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm local time.



What is Earth Hour

While the focus of the global event was to engage people in critical climate conversations and solutions, the country-specific theme for India was to encourage usage of solar energy by individuals and organizations.

Details related to Earth Hour 2016

• Individuals, communities, organizations and landmarks participated in the event in 178 countries and territories by switching off lights in solidarity with global efforts to change climate change.

• It was celebrated across seven continents, aboard the International Space Station and served as a strong visual reminder of the globe's determination to tackle our planet’s biggest environmental challenge yet.

• Around 1.2 million individual actions were taken to help change climate change including participating in on-the-ground activities for reforestation and recycling, digital petitions for climate-friendly policy and online campaigns to promote climate awareness and action.

• The participants at the WWF-Singapore event came forward to ‘plant a forest’ in Sumatra, Indonesia which lost 2 million hectares of forest to burning between September and October 2015.

• As part of the “Donate Your Social Power” campaign, supporters around the world also donated their social feeds to WWF and Earth Hour to shine a light on climate action.

• Lights were switched off at over 400 iconic landmarks including the Sydney Opera House (Sydney), Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament (London), the Empire State Building (New York) and Rashtrapati Bhavan (India).

About Earth Hour

• Earth Hour is a global environmental movement with a simple message to switch off non-essential lights for one hour on the last Saturday of March between 8:30 and 9:30 pm.

• Globally, it is being organized annually by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in association with the government, non-governmental organizations and individuals.

• The Earth Hour 2016 was the tenth edition of the global celebration that started off as a one city event in Sydney, Australia in 2007.

• In 10 years it has grown to become the world's largest grassroots movement for the environment, inspiring individuals, communities, businesses and organizations in over 170 countries and territories to take tangible climate action.

About World Wide Fund for Nature

• It is one of the world’s largest and independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries.

• Its primary objective is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

• It seeks to achieve this objective by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful.

It was established on 29 April 1961 with the slogan - For a Living Planet.