FROM 8.30pm to 9.30pm on last Saturday of March, every year, the world shuts down electric lights for one hour to mark the Earth Hour.
It is a tradition established by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) with an aim of paying attention to environmental crisis taking place on the earth and raise awareness about sustainability, climate change and importance of caring for the environment.
Earth Hour was observed all over the world yesterday, where residents of the State of Qatar and institutions also joined millions of people and companies around the globe to spread awareness about environment protection and climate change. In this a global movement, almost all government and private institutions and companies including ministries, malls, hotels, offices as well as individuals observed the event last night by switching off the lights of the buildings, houses for an hour from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.
The Ministry of Municipality and Environment led the environmental campaign by calling upon the residents to switch off unnecessary lights and electronic equipment for one hour in celebration of the Earth Hour. Similar calls were made by other governmental entities like Kahramaa which posted a motion graphic with slogan “Disconnect to Reconnect” on its Twitter, and Qatar Calendar, reminded people that “a better future is in our hands inviting us to take a step towards this future by turning off our lights for Earth Hour.
Some malls not only paid attribute to this hour by decreasing electricity consumption, but also promoted the practice of electricity preservation by spreading awareness and sustainability messages among the visitors using digital screens. Earthhour.org has drawn out attention to the fact: “Over the years, the lights-off moment saw entire streets, buildings, landmarks, and city skylines go dark - an unmissable sight that drew public attention to nature loss and the climate crisis.”
May be this is the first time, the entire world with no exception facing the same challenge which is COVID-19, therefore this year’s world celebration of the event became quite different, from the previous years, as everyone is indoor due to the health restrictions but still there is an incredible opportunity to highlight online environmental issues and the crisis facing the nature because of human destructive practices and recklessness.
Marking this day through a simple move of switching lights off for one hour showcases the need to take action on the pressing issue of global climate change and caring for the environment is caring for our present and future generations. It is one of the most important environmental conservation movements that show a sig
