Skylines go dark. Hotel and house windows dim. Across the globe, sparkling cities get just a little less bright.

It’s Earth Hour: the worldwide movement, begun in 2007, to encourage people, businesses, and cities to turn out their lights for just one hour as an acknowledgment of the battle against climate change. In 2018, Earth Hour takes place at 8:30 p.m. your local time on Saturday, March 24.

What is Earth Hour?

You won’t see a total blackout during Earth Hour — more of a gradual dimming. While more than 12,000 landmarks and monuments switch off their lights, as well as countless businesses and homes, not everyone participates.¹ Features like streetlights and signs typically remain lit. It’s held in late March because that’s when the sun sets at approximately the same time in the northern and southern hemispheres, making it easier to see the global effects of Earth Hour.^2

Many people think Earth Hour is an actual effort to reduce the world’s energy consumption during that short time. Which, of course, leads to many questions: What’s the point of doing it just for an hour? How much energy is actually saved? And does it make any difference?

Large cities do see a dip in their power consumption, but that’s not the point, organizers say. The intention is to help people realize that their small actions, like turning off a light, do matter, and to encourage them to continue efforts to conserve energy and protect the environment. “Participation in Earth Hour symbolizes a commitment to change beyond the hour,” WWF says.

How different countries observe Earth Hour

• Australia: Earth Hour started in Sydney, so the event is a big deal Down Under. More than 2 million people participated in 2007, and now one in four Aussies takes part. Recently, schoolchildren assembled solar lights made by SolarBuddy to send to rural communities in Ethiopia.³
• United States: Across the U.S., famous landmarks go dark (or dim) for Earth Hour: the Empire State Building, One Times Square, the Space Needle, the Golden Gate Bridge.
• India: As part of its Earth Hour efforts, WWF India is promoting solar energy adoption. With around 300 sunny days per year, the country could potentially generate 5,000 trillion kWh of energy per year — much more than India consumes.⁴
• Pakistan: In Pakistan, which has the fastest deforestation rate in Asia, WWF-Pakistan, and textile giant Artistic Fabric & Garment Industries planted 27,000 mangrove saplings in Karachi in honor of Earth Hour 2018.⁵
• Singapore: This island-state of 5.6 million people hosts concerts and races for Earth Hour, and also has used the event to galvanize support for protecting Indonesia’s tropical forests and peat lands. Efforts are working: In 2017, deforestation slowed in the Aceh Province, where rainforests are home to the Sumatran tiger, rhino, orangutan, and elephant.⁶

Ways to observe Earth Hour

During Earth Hour itself, many people host candlelight dinners or marches or listen to live-streamed concerts in honor of the event. In addition to activities like these, we suggest making lasting changes in your lifestyle. Consider:

• Getting an energy audit done on your house to identify ways to reduce your power usage
• Programming your thermostat to keep temperatures 2 degrees higher in the summer and 2 degrees lower in the winter
• Drying clothes on a clothesline instead of the dryer
• Switching to LED light bulbs
• Opting to use clean energy through a service like Arcadia Power
• Adjusting your diet to include more veggies and less meat
• Pledging to stop buying bottled water; carry a reusable bottle instead

If you’re planning a big vacation this year, think about ways to reduce the environmental impact of travel. Can you choose an eco-lodge instead of a sprawling mega-resort? If you’re flying, can you purchase carbon offset credits, which pay for planting trees or other remediation? Or can you choose an airline like JetBlue or United that has committed to using more biofuels?⁷ Wherever you travel, ask questions — and protect your vacation investment with travel insurance from Allianz Global Assistance.

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