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.
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