Landmarks switch off lights to mark 'Earth Hour'

 

Skylines across the world went dark as millions celebrate World Wide Fund for Nature's Earth Hour to spark global awareness and action on nature and the environment.

Earth Hour was observed from 8:30pm to 9:30pm, world wide.

The #Connect2Earth campaign aims to create awareness regarding the importance of saving nature as our lives depend on its health. Participation will mark Earth Hour by switching off unnecessary lights for the hour to symbolise a commitment to change beyond the hour.

The world's largest voluntary action, encourages individuals, businesses and governments around the world to take accountability for their ecological footprint engage in dialogue and resource exchange that provides real solutions to our environmental challenges. 

The thirteenth edition of Earth Hour will see 24 landmarks each go dark for 60 minutes throughout the day.

Global landmarks from the Sydney Opera House to Dubai’s Burj Khalifa dim their lights to raise awareness about energy use and our planet's vanishing biodiversity.

Paris's Eiffel Tower, New York's Empire State Building and the Acropolis in Athens will all take part in Earth Hour.

"We are the first generation to know we are destroying the world. And we could be the last that can do anything about it," the charity said.

"We have the solutions; we just need our voices to be heard."

The event comes after some of the most dire warnings yet on the state of Earth's natural habitat and species.

WWF's own "Living Planet" report in October said that 60 per cent of all animals with a backbone — fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals — had been wiped out by human activity since 1970.

Another dataset confirmed the depth of an unfolding mass extinction event, only the sixth in the last half-billion years.

Last year's event was observed in more than 7,000 towns and cities in 187 countries, according to organisers. 

— With additional information from AFP