Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Earth Hour 2015 in pictures: Cities and landmarks around the world go dark to raise awareness of climate change

The world came together to rally against climate change

Ben Tufft
Sunday 29 March 2015 12:06 BST
Comments
Parliament's Elizabeth Tower was scarcely visible for an hour as part of the global event
Parliament's Elizabeth Tower was scarcely visible for an hour as part of the global event (PA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Cities across the world were plunged into darkness for an hour last night to mark Earth Hour 2015.

The global event is designed to raise awareness about climate change.

Landmarks including the Houses of Parliament, the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Harbour Bridge and St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow dimmed their lights to highlight the need for change in environmental policy.

It was established in in 2007 in Australia by WWF and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries, as well as in Antarctica and the International Space Station.

Environmentally friendly Berlin turned off the lights for Earth Hour
Environmentally friendly Berlin turned off the lights for Earth Hour (Reuters)
St Basil's went dark in Moscow
St Basil's went dark in Moscow (Reuters)
Fireworks heralded the start of Earth Hour in Sydney
Fireworks heralded the start of Earth Hour in Sydney (AFP/Getty)

Earth Hour director Sudhanshu Sarronwala said: “Earth Hour confirms our belief that in order to change climate change we need to act together.”

The spiritual home of the world's Catholics dimmed its lights along with other world landmarks
The spiritual home of the world's Catholics dimmed its lights along with other world landmarks (EPA)
The City of Lights went dark for an hour
The City of Lights went dark for an hour (EPA)

Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary general, echoed this in a statement he made on YouTube where he said that people coming together will play a key role in helping to solve climate change.

Lights are turned off at 8.30pm local time and the first country to flick the switch is Samoa, while Tahiti is the last to join in the spectacle.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in