Earth Hour facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Earth Hour

Observed by	World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF)
Type	International, Movement, World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Significance	Climate change and to save Earth
Celebrations	Mass activations to encourage the public to give an hour for the planet; Switching off national and international monuments and landmarks
Begins	8:30 pm
Ends	9:30 pm
Date	Last or penultimate Saturday of March
2023 date	March 25
2024 date	March 23
2025 date	March 22
2026 date	March 28
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Earth Day

Earth Hour is a big worldwide event organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). It happens every year. During Earth Hour, people, groups, and businesses are asked to "give an hour for Earth." This usually means turning off non-important electric lights for one hour. This happens from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday of March. It's a way to show we care about our planet.

Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007. Sometimes, if a religious holiday like Holy Saturday falls on the last Saturday of March, Earth Hour happens a week earlier.

The Story of Earth Hour
Why We Measure Electricity Use
Images for kids
See also

The Story of Earth Hour

How Earth Hour Began

The idea for Earth Hour started in 2004. WWF Australia wanted to find a way to get Australians to think about climate change. They worked with an advertising agency to come up with a big "lights off" event. This idea was first called "The Big Flick."

In 2007, the first Earth Hour took place in Sydney, Australia. It was a big success! Later that year, San Francisco in the USA held its own "Lights Out" event, inspired by Sydney.

Earth Hour Goes Global: 2008

Sydney looks different during Earth Hour 2008 as lights go out.

In 2008, Earth Hour became a worldwide event. It happened on March 29, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. in each local time zone. About 35 countries and over 400 cities officially joined in. Famous landmarks all over the world turned off their lights. Even Google's homepage went "dark" for the day.

Many people took part. For example, about 36 million Americans joined Earth Hour in 2008. After the event, more people became interested in environmental issues like climate change.

Some cities changed their Earth Hour time. Tel Aviv held its event on a Thursday to avoid a religious day. Dublin moved its time later because of its northern location.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House were dark during Earth Hour 2007.

Cities reported saving electricity during the hour. Bangkok in Thailand saved a lot of electricity, reducing carbon dioxide. The Philippines also saw a big drop in power use. In Ontario, Canada, electricity use went down by about 900 megawatt-hours. Dubai saved 100 megawatt-hours of electricity.

The Azrieli Center in Tel Aviv was dark for Earth Hour 2010.

The Colosseum in Rome was dark for Earth Hour 2008.

The city of Christchurch, New Zealand, had the biggest drop in electricity demand, at 13%. Melbourne, Australia, reduced demand by 10.1%. Sydney, where it all began, cut electricity use by 8.4%.

Not every place saw a drop. In Calgary, Canada, power use actually went up slightly in 2008. This was because the weather was much colder than the week before. In later years, Calgary's power use changed very little during Earth Hour.

Growing Bigger: 2009-2010

Earth Hour 2009 was on March 28. It was called "Vote Earth." The goal was to get one billion "votes" for the planet. This was important because of a big climate change meeting happening that year. WWF said that 88 countries and over 4,000 cities joined in. This was ten times more cities than in 2008!

For the first time, the United Nations Headquarters in New York City turned off its lights. In Egypt, the famous Sphinx and Great Pyramids of Giza went dark. The Philippines had a huge turnout, with over 10 million people joining.

The Botanical Garden of Curitiba in Brazil, with its lights off on March 27, 2010.

Earth Hour 2010 was on March 27. A total of 126 countries participated. In the United States, about 90 million Americans joined. Famous places like Mount Rushmore and the Empire State Building turned off their lights. Some cities even made long-term changes to save power. For example, Mount Rushmore started turning off its lights earlier each night.

In Vietnam, electricity demand fell by a huge amount during Earth Hour 2010. This was three times more than in 2009. Over 1,000 towns and cities in the Philippines joined in. Landmarks like Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, and the Forbidden City also went dark.

Beyond the Hour: 2011 and Onward

In 2011, Earth Hour introduced the idea of "Beyond the Hour." This meant encouraging people to do more for the environment than just turning off lights for 60 minutes. The new logo included a "60+" symbol.

Earth Hour 2011 was the biggest yet. It took place in over 5,200 cities in 135 countries. About 1.8 billion people around the world were reached. Even YouTube helped promote it by changing its logo and adding a special on/off feature for videos.

In 2012, Earth Hour's main office moved to Singapore. That year, over 7,000 cities in 152 countries participated. It was also the first time Earth Hour was celebrated in space! A Dutch astronaut tweeted about it from orbit.

Earth Hour's Impactful Projects

Since 2013, Earth Hour has focused on more than just turning off lights. It has launched many projects to help the planet.

Planting Forests and Saving Energy

In 2013, the world's first Earth Hour Forest began in Uganda. This project aims to replant 2,700 hectares of land. A bank in Uganda promised to help plant over 250,000 trees. In Madagascar, wood-saving stoves were given to people affected by a cyclone. This helped them use less wood for cooking.

The former President of Botswana promised to plant one million native trees. In Russia, WWF gathered over 100,000 signatures. This helped change laws to protect forests.

Crowdfunding for the Planet

The Arena in Verona, Italy, with its lights off during Earth Hour 2013.

In 2014, Earth Hour launched "Earth Hour Blue." This platform helps people donate money or support environmental projects. Over US$60,000 was raised for projects run by WWF. These projects included protecting Australia's Great Barrier Reef and providing wood-efficient stoves in Madagascar.

In 2015, the main message was "Change Climate Change." Over 170 countries and 1,200 landmarks joined. Crowdfunding projects included giving out solar lights in the Philippines and India.

A unique event happened on Sibuyan island in the Philippines. The islanders turned their lights *on* during Earth Hour. They did this to show that they use clean, renewable energy from a mini-hydro power plant.

Recent Years: Digital and Community Action

Earth Hour continued to grow in the following years. In 2016, it was the 10th anniversary of the campaign. Almost all countries in the world participated. In 2019, 188 countries joined. A beauty queen from Vietnam, Nguyễn Phương Khánh, became an Earth Hour Ambassador. She encouraged everyone to save energy.

In 2020, Earth Hour went digital because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 190 countries took part online. Many famous people, like UN Secretary General António Guterres and Pope Francis, supported the event.

In 2023, Earth Hour was rebranded as the "Biggest Hour for Earth." The focus shifted even more to community action. People were encouraged to pledge "planet-positive activities" for an hour. Over 410,000 hours of such activities were pledged.

In 2024, Earth Hour in the Philippines focused on plastic pollution. Many businesses and landmarks, like Okada Manila and Jollibee Foods Corporation stores, turned off their lights. This showed their support for a greener future.

Why We Measure Electricity Use

The Earth Hour organizers say that the event is not just about saving electricity for one hour. It's a symbolic action. The main goal is to encourage people, businesses, and governments to think about their impact on the environment. It's about finding real solutions to environmental problems.

A study in 2014 looked at 274 measurements of electricity use during Earth Hour. It found that electricity consumption dropped by about 4% on average. This shows that the event does have an effect. But the bigger challenge is to turn this short-term saving into long-term actions. This means changing habits and investing in greener solutions.

Images for kids

The Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand, switched off its usual floodlighting during the Earth Hour, and re-lit afterwards. (the red lights in the middle image are aircraft warning lights)