--- 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: 2026-02-22T05:31:04.488Z 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=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 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=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # People Across the Globe Switch Off Their Lights for Earth Hour ## 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) ```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":"2026-02-22T05:31:04.488Z","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":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/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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