--- title: Earth Hour: People Across the Globe Switch off Their Lights description: From Australia to Austin, global citizens send a message about climate change canonical: https://time.com/3762297/earth-hour-switch-off-lights/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-28T13:19:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:17.691Z article:section: Science og:title: People Across the Globe Switch Off Their Lights for Earth Hour og:description: From Australia to Austin, global citizens send a message about climate change og:url: https://time.com/3762297/earth-hour-switch-off-lights/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte97dc247119c5409/698785a6428a9ef204cc7daa/467873280.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 7360 og:image:height: 4140 og:image:alt: AUSTRALIA-ENVIRONMENT-ENERGY-EARTH HOUR og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: People Across the Globe Switch Off Their Lights for Earth Hour twitter:description: From Australia to Austin, global citizens send a message about climate change twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte97dc247119c5409/698785a6428a9ef204cc7daa/467873280.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # People Across the Globe Switch Off Their Lights for Earth Hour > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=0b001617-b42d-4850-8b68-76759c4c8ebe&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: U.N. Warns Of Water Shortage By 2030 [Watch (HLS stream): U.N. Warns Of Water Shortage By 2030](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8DglmNOt.m3u8) (1:33)  _Published 2015-03-22. A United Nations report says by 2030, the world will have only 60 percent of the water it needs, the result of population growth and wasteful use._  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Mar 28, 2015 1:19 PM UTC  Fireworks fade as lights go out on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House to signal the start of the Earth Hour environmental campaign, among the first landmarks around the world to dim their lights for the event on March 28, 2015. Fireworks fade as lights go out on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House to signal the start of the Earth Hour environmental campaign, among the first landmarks around the world to dim their lights for the event on March 28, 2015. Peter Parks—AFP/Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Mar 28, 2015 1:19 PM UTC Seven thousand cities in 162 countries across the globe are turning off their lights for Earth Hour this year. Each city will dim their skyline beginning at 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday. Earth Hour started in 2007 as a World Wildlife Fund event in Australia and has grown to become a global message that citizens across the world must work together to fight climate change. Some of the world’s best-known landmarks will go dark this year, including the the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the United Nations building in New York City and the Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro. This year’s earth hour takes on extra significance ahead of the UN meeting on climate change in Paris scheduled for December. _Read next:_ [_Antarctica May Have Just Set a Record for Its Hottest Day Ever_](http://time.com/3762354/antarctica-temperature-high/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ## Transcript [00:00] A report released by the United Nations on Friday [00:02] warned that in 2030 the world might only have 60 % of [00:06] the water it needs. A shortfall that could effect 2. 9 [00:10] billion people in 48 countries. In the words of the [00:13] report, unless the balance between demand and finite [00:16] supplies is restored, the world will face an increasingly [00:19] severe global water deficit. The numbers are [00:22] staggering. The World Health Organization estimated [00:25] 748 million people lack access to clean water. A [00:28] number that's only increasing. These shortages are [00:31] already having an impact. In Brazil, a historic drought [00:34] has combined with a population boom to create a [00:36] shortage so bad that doctors can't give their patients [00:39] full dialysis treatments. And here's the thing, Brazil is [00:43] in one of the most water rich states in the world. In [00:46] arid regions, it could get much, much worse. Take the [00:49] Gaza Strip, where Israeli airstrikes and a lack of [00:51] investment have made the tap water undrinkable. We [00:54] [ UNKNOWN ] that in 2016, Gaza will be not [00:59] livable in terms of water resources. But water [01:01] shortages don't just impact people where the shortage [01:04] is. Droughts in places like California could drive up [01:07] food costs worldwide. You know, drought. Here for us [01:11] can be a disaster. But it, but you don't see things like [01:14] you do with an earthquake where things are knocked [01:16] down and broken. So who's to blame? The UN points [01:19] its finger at population growth along with government [01:22] policies that prioritize economic development over [01:25] conservation. Also to blame is global warming which [01:28] climate scientists think is already making droughts [01:31] more common and more severe ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3762297/earth-hour-switch-off-lights/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3762297/earth-hour-switch-off-lights/"},"headline":"People Across the Globe Switch Off Their Lights for Earth Hour","datePublished":"2015-03-28T13:19:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:17.691Z","description":"From Australia to Austin, global citizens send a message about climate change","url":"https://time.com/3762297/earth-hour-switch-off-lights/","keywords":["climate change"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte97dc247119c5409/698785a6428a9ef204cc7daa/467873280.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte97dc247119c5409/698785a6428a9ef204cc7daa/467873280.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"AUSTRALIA-ENVIRONMENT-ENERGY-EARTH HOUR","caption":"AUSTRALIA-ENVIRONMENT-ENERGY-EARTH HOUR","creditText":"Peter Parks—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3762297/earth-hour-switch-off-lights/","name":"People Across the Globe Switch Off Their Lights for Earth Hour"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"U.N. 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