Celebrate Earth Hour the last Saturday in March
On the last Saturday in March, from 8:30 to 9:30 pm, people around the world will switch off their lights in honor of Earth Hour.
This hour happens every year on the last Saturday in March (usually). And the time is always your local time. So the entire earth won’t actually go dark at once. The darkness will follow the time zones.
And everything won’t actually go dark either. The idea is to turn off nonessential lights. So you don’t have to spend an hour sitting in darkness or working by candlelight.
On the other hand, spending an hour in the dark could be fun. But that’s totally up to you.
How Earth Hour Started
The first Earth Hour was held in Sydney, Australia on March 31, 2007. It was organized by WWF Australia to engage Australians on climate change issues.
San Francisco followed up with a similar event that October. It was a success, so the organizers decided to be a part of the March 2008 Earth Hour.
Thirty-five countries around the world took part in Earth Hour 2008, from 8 to 9 pm local time. Landmark buildings, from Australia’s Sydney Opera House to the Empire State Building in New York, Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) in Chicago and Wat Arun Temple in Bangkok turned off nonessential lights.
A Zogby International online survey estimated 36 million people took part in the event.
For 2009 the time had switched to the 8:30 to 9:30 pm hour it currently holds. And the number of countries participating had more than doubled, to 96.
Despite criticism over how effective it really is, participation kept growing. According to the official website, earthhour.org, more than 162 countries now take part.
What is Earth Hour Really About?
It’s about raising awareness of climate change and our energy usage.
Every year people call the day a waste of time and effort. They say the hour does nothing to reduce energy usage or emissions.
But it’s not supposed to. According to the Earth Hour FAQ (specifially #24): “Earth hour does not claim that the event is an energy or carbon reduction exercise – it is a symbolic action. … Participation in Earth Hour symbolises a commitment to change beyond the hour.”
So the goal is to get people thinking about how they live and how they can change their actions to help protect the planet and create a sustainable world.
Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial holiday.
Celebrating Earth Hour
Being a part of this day (hour, actually) is about as simple as it gets: Turn off any lights you don’t need from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. your time.
Individuals, businesses and cities can vow to participate.
Individuals
If you’d like to make it official, you can sign up to show your commitment to fighting climate change.
Plan your own Earth Hour event. Keep it small at home, or plan something bigger with your community.
Share the event on your social media pages to encourage friends and family to participate.
If you decide all the lights in your home are nonessential and you need ideas for how to spend your hour of darkness, WWF has a list of things you can do in the dark.
Companies
Businesses can also sign up to show their commitment. You can signal your intent to turn off nonessential lights and/or announce if you’re having any events open to the public.
Dates for Future Earth Hour Observations
We turn off the lights for one hour on the last Saturday in March, or thereabouts, so of course the actual date will change each year.
If you want to plan ahead for future observations, here a list of the dates for the last Saturday in March for the next few years:
- 2019 – Saturday, March 30
- 2020 – Saturday, March 28
- 2021 – Saturday, March 27
- 2022 – Saturday, March 26
- 2023 – Saturday, March 25
- 2024 – Saturday, March 30
- 2025 – Saturday, March 29
- 2026 – Saturday, March 28
- 2027 – Saturday, March 27
- 2028 – Saturday, March 25
Do keep in mind that this event may not always be on the last Saturday (like the 2018 event, on the 24th (the 4th Sat.) not the 31st (the last Sat.)). So the best source for the actual date will always be earthhour.org.
[…] Earth Hour: Join the symbolic pledge to help protect the environment & the planet. Turn off any non-essential lights for one hour at 8:30 p.m. your local time. […]