Earth Hour is a worldwide movement wherein people turn off their non-essential electric lights for one hour. Organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Earth Hour 2018 will be observed from 8:30 to 9:30 pm March 24. The initiative is towards conserving our resources by doing our bit.

On the eve of Earth Hour, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan urged people to switch off all non-essential lights saying he will do the same. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Kerala Governor P Sathasivam also made the same appeal to the people. Raje said, "Therefore, we should use electricity judiciously and make more efforts towards using renewable resources to produce electricity for the conservation of the environment."

Earth Hour started in 2007 as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia. The day has since then grown with participants including 7,000 cities and towns across 187 countries. The day was internationally observed on March 29, 2008 from 8pm to 9pm wherein 35 countries around the world participated and was supported by 499 cities. Several known landmarks around the world also switched off their non-essential lighting for Earth Hour. Some websites took part in the event, with Google's homepage going "dark" on the day.

Encouraging energy conservation, Snapdeal has set-up an Earth Hour Store which curates a selection of everyday items that can be used frequently to make energy conservation a daily habit.

This year, WWF India is launching the 'Give Up to Give Back' initiative to inspire individuals and organisations, institutions to lifestyle choices that burden our lives and the environment. Their also includes taking steps like giving up single-use plastics, fossil fuels, lonely car rides or e-waste among others.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2018 12:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).