People Across the Globe Switch Off Their Lights for Earth Hour

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AUSTRALIA-ENVIRONMENT-ENERGY-EARTH HOUR
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

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.

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Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com