Lights at public places and prominent sites in various cities of India, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, were turned off between 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm last night as part of the global ‘Earth Hour’ event. The annual event is observed to raise awareness about energy conservation.

Lights at India Gate and the famous Akshardham temple in the National Capital were turned off for an hour. According to power distribution company BSES, 206 MW of electricity was saved on account of the Earth Hour in Delhi as a whole.

At Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, lights were switched off for an hour to mark Earth Hour. In Kolkata, too, the lights of the iconic Howrah Bridge were turned off to mark the annual event observed globally to promote awareness about climate change. The lights of the Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat were switched off, and candles were lit in the shape of the number ’60’ symbolising 60 minutes of an hour at the state secretariat during this time.

Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad also joined the nationwide Earth Hour initiative by turning off all lights in its iconic premises, staff colony, officer’s quarters, and administrative building for one hour. In Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) also observed Earth Hour at the Napier Museum by lighting candles. The lights at the Assam Legislative Assembly in Guwahati were also turned off to conserve energy.

Through Earth Hour, WWF encourages people worldwide to turn their lights off for 60 minutes to raise awareness about environmental issues. Started in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour is an annual international event, that has been held since 2007 on the last Saturday in March by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It has grown to become one of the world’s biggest environmental movements, taking action for the planet.