The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India is set to celebrate Earth Hour 2024 on March 23 from 8.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m., worldwide.
Earth Hour is a flagship annual event that returns for its 18th edition with the ‘Biggest Hour for Earth’ in support and celebration of our planet. “In an increasingly divided world, Earth Hour serves as a beacon of positivity, hope, and inspiration to rally as many people as possible, in particular people who are not fully engaged with the environmental crisis yet,” WWF said in a statement.
Why is World Earth Hour Day celebrated?
Earth Hour encourages people worldwide to turn their lights off for 60 minutes to raise awareness about environmental issues. An annual international event, Earth Day has been held since 2007 on the last Saturday in March.
The WWF on March 15 released a ‘soothing’ Earth Day anthem, composed by Shantanu Moitra and sung by Papon, urging people to conserve nature.
“The lyrics by Tanveer Ghazi invoke the beauty and generosity of nature and our collective responsibility of protecting it,” the WWF posted on X.
Popular baker and cookbook author Shivesh Bhatia and famed Indian fashion designer Rahul Mishra will switch off non-essential lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. to mark their support for the global environment movement.
“Last year, over 4,10,000 hours were given to our planet by supporters in over 190 countries and territories. This year, join us in making the #BiggestHourForEarth even bigger by spending 60 minutes doing good for the planet while doing something you love!” WWF said in a statement.
Earth Hour is more than a moment; it’s a movement that for the last 18 years has continued to inspire and mobilise people globally, reminding us of our collective responsibility to create a more hopeful and resilient future for our planet, it added.
Last year, lights at public places and some temples in various cities of India including Mumbai, Kolkata and the national capital were turned off between 8.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. as part of the global ‘Earth Hour’ event. Lights at Rashtrapati Bhavan and also the famous Akshardham temple in the national capital were turned off. Similarly, in Mumbai, videos emerged from the famous Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus with lights being switched off for an hour to mark Earth Hour.
(With PTI inputs)
