What is Earth Hour

Earth Hour is an event that originated in 2007 and it was an initiative started by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) and its partners as a lights-out event that took place in Sydney.

Ever since, WWF says that millions of people in some 185 countries and territories are participating every year in various ways to help protect our planet and its ecosystems.

It's very simple. All you have to do is turn off your lights for an hour per year and enjoy doing something else, whether it's taking a nap, going for a hike or learning more about our planet.

To put the impact Earth Hour can have into perspective, last year, Vietnam was able to save on over 300.000kWh of energy by turning the lights off for an hour, saving on 26.000 USD.

Some countries can see even more savings by signing into the cause and, of course, it's not just about saving money here, but reducing our environmental footprint.

When is Earth Hour

The international Earth Hour event takes place every year on the last Saturday in March, which this year will take place on March 25th. Between 8:30 and 9:30 PM, it is lights out for those who want to participate.

You, too, can choose to take part into one of the biggest environmental events in the world, with this year being the 16th anniversary of it. You can find more about Earth Hour here.

It is truly impressive to see the world connecting during this event, as famous landmarks switch off their lights, as well, with regular people, businesses and corporations taking part, too.

If you like listening to tracks, podcasts and other such things, then you can also listen to the Earth Hour 2023 Spotify playlist, specially created by WWF-UK.

Earth Hour facts

Earth Hour is not just about switching off your lights, it's about reconnecting with nature and people you care about. There are a number of activities you can do on your own, with your significant other and you can even join groups that want to help the planet.

For example, back in 2013, WWF Uganda launched what was known as the first Earth Hour Forest, an event that helped reforest some 2.700 hectares of land,

Also, in 2014, a well-known character joined the Earth Our effort to make it more popular.

Spider-Man was the first superhero in the world to become a global ambassador of the Earth Hour, helping the cause reach further out to younger generations and not only.

One year later, in 2015, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took part in the Earth Hour event from an out-of-this-world location. During a mission on the International Space Station, she displayed a message that said "Change Climate Change", encouraging people to become more sustainable.

Sustainability sparks innovation and that was the case of the city of Shanghai, which implemented "solar-powered trees" as a way to help people stay connected and charge their mobile phones during the Earth Hour event, all with clean energy.

During the first Earth Hour event that took place in 2007, some 2.2 million people and 2.000 businesses turned off their lights to show support of the initiative.

Earth Hour 2023 activities

So far for Earth Hour 2023, nearly 53.000 people in 129 countries pledged to spend over 13.800 hours reconnecting with our planet, almost 6.000 hours restoring our planet's ecosystems and over 30.000 hours learning more about Earth, among other activities.

So far, India is the leader in terms of registered participants, with 9.404 hours of eco-friendly activities, while Romania sits at number 7 on the list of most registered Earth Hour participants, with 2.525 people taking part in different ways.

The truth is that there are many things you can do during the Earth Hour event and I am going to help you choose an activity that might help that hour pass like it was just a moment.

When was the last time you took a hike? March 25th could be a great day to do just that, as it can be a great way to exercise physically, while leaving your home with the lights off.

More of a bike person? Even better, why not take a ride through the woods, the park, around your neighborhood or in between small towns. Whatever floats your boat, don't forget to switch the light off and get ready for a mini-cycling marathon.

Surprise your significant other with a candle-lit dinner. Set up a romantic table for two, a bottle of wine and some vegetarian/vegan meal and you are done. Lights out around the house and just have a chat and a laugh during dinner. Then, you can take a walk in the park or spend time with some relatives, encouraging them to switch off their lights, as well.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, you probably already have a dozen ideas of your own, but if you need more help, Earth Hour websites can help you find more things to do not just during the event, but potentially long-term, as a hobby.

No matter how you help, participating in the Earth Hour event is a great way to begin dedicating yourself to climate action or finding an activity that you might want to carry on doing on a regular basis.

More than just a homage to our planet, Earth Hour can be an opportunity to discover new things, connect with people and spend quality time with yourself.