Skip to content Skip to navigation

WWF, Earth Hour and a decade of Climate Action

As skylines around the country went dark on Saturday, March 25, thousands united to celebrate WWF’s Earth Hour and shine a light on climate action. Prominent Indian landmarks, Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, Red Fort,  Charminar and others switched off their lights in solidarity as individuals, communities and organizations came together to deliver on their potential to help change climate change, the planet’s biggest environmental challenge yet.

The Earth Hour India campaign, “Be an Earth Hour Superhero” focused on inspiring individuals, corporates and other organizations, schools, colleges, RWAs and housing societies to become superheroes for the planet, undertake five simple actions and lend their voices to the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment. WWF-India launched an interactive Earth Hour game on its portal (earthhour.in), driving home the need to be energy efficient in the daily lives of the people.

The year 2017 marks the tenth anniversary of Earth Hour which started as a symbolic event in 2007. The campaign went beyond the traditional “switch-off” and carried with it a conservation message that inspired millions around the globe to stand together and take positive action against climate change. Earth Hour is mobilizes individuals, communities and organizations globally to do their part to help build a sustainable and greener future.

Speaking during the campaign, Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, WWF-India, said, “Climate Change is a global concern and needs our immediate attention. Earth Hour, a campaign launched ten years ago, is a platform that allows people to stand together on climate change and adopt practices that can help us make positive changes and work towards a sustainable future. The participation in the campaign has grown multifold over the years and is an indicator of the willingness of people across the country to work together to protect the planet and its resources."

As every year, this year too Earth Hour found unprecedented support from all quarters across the country including governments, corporates and organizations, through various innovative Earth Hour events and the switching off of iconic monuments and buildings in India to mark the movement.  Celebrities like Alia Bhatt, Virat Kohli, Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Boman Irani and many others are also lended their voice to the cause, asking people across the country to switch off and adopt sustainable and greener lifestyles for a healthier planet. Some of the organizations that supported the campaign include the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, BSES, the Taj Group of Hotels, Times Media, E-bay, Vistara, Indigo and others.

In Guwahati, a candle-march was organized as a part of Earth Hour celebrations at the Dighalipukhuri Park. College students, supporters and the Assam Bamboo Band convened for the switch-off lights campaign. Solar lanterns and LED lights provided by AEDA were used to illustrate 60+ Assam on the ground. Present during the event to support the global cause were Arup Mishra, Director, Assam Energy Development Agency, Professor Prasanta Kumar Saikia, Gauhati University and Advisor Professor Ranjit Chowdhury among others. WWF Volunteers at Gauhati University and IIT-Guwahati also observed Earth Hour. WWF-India, in partnership with various other organizations also organised programs in Pobitora, Deepor Beel, Mangaldoi, Nalbari and Goalpara.

The campaign has also received overwhelming support from many government and private organizations across the state such as the Gauhati High Court, Assam Tourism Development Corporation Limited (ATDCL), Assam Power Development Corporation Limited(APDCL), Assam Energy Development Agency (AEDA), Office of the Deputy Commissioners, Commissioner of Police, Office of the Governor, Commissioner of Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Srimanta Sankardev Kalakhetra, Rabindra Bhawan, District Library, Assam State Museum, Swami Vivekananda Institute of Art and Culture, SBI, Town Club, India Club, Gauhati Club,  and many others

Author info

Syed Miraz Ahmed's picture

Writes, edits and researches. In 2013 he was conferred the Rotary International District 3240 Young Achiever Award for his work in the area of environment and digital journalism. In 2006 he was awarded first in the category of Wildlife Photography by the Department of Environment & Forests and Tourism, Government of Assam.

Add new comment

Random Stories

Assam Association Formed in Gurgaon

23 Jul 2007 - 12:52pm | editor
Gurgaon : The “Millennium City” that’s the word that has been coined for Gurgaon. The Millennium city with its huge Assamese population formally got its own Assam Association with...

Sonowal's Kokrajhar visit

7 Aug 2016 - 9:08pm | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today visited Kokajhar to take stock of the situation arising out of Friday firing at Balajan Tinali market after 48 hours of the incident. Sonowal landed in a...

Veteran journalist Anil Mazumdar shot dead

25 Mar 2009 - 1:27pm | editor
In a gruesome incident that sends shockwave across the state's media fraternity, some unidentified miscreants gunned down veteran journalist and Executive Editor of Aji, Anil Mazumdar in front of his...

KMSS dharna in Sivasagar

10 Feb 2014 - 1:38pm | AT News
Thousands of KMSS activists hit the streets in Sivasagar on Monday alleging horse trading in the recent Rajya Sabha polls.Led by its president Akhil Gogoi, the protestors staged dharna in front of...

Other Contents by Author

The U.S. Consulate General, Kolkata in collaboration with social enterprise Contact Base, is launching a youth entrepreneurship initiative – Y4BIZ (Youth for Business) in four cities Guwahati, Patna, Ranchi and Kolkata. The program in Guwahati took place in association with the local organization, Startup Assam. The Y4BIZ program aims to support a promising group of 50 young entrepreneurs, and transform their business ideas from the initial stage to a sustainable business model. The 50 entrepreneurs will be selected by a rigorous screening process after the launch events in all four cities. This will be followed by an online capacity building and mentoring program run by the IC2...
The People’s Democratic Council of Karbi-longri (PDCK) Thursday rubbished what it term ed as a “strange” news report aired by News 18 on November 7, 2017 with graphics of photographs and videos on the basis of a police claim. “The news report emphatically asserted that our Home Secretary, Mir-ang Sir-ang was and is directly involved in cases of poaching rhinos in the Kaziranga National Park. The allegation made by the greedy Assam Police personnel and corrupt forest department officials against PDCK and its Home Secretary for killing rhinos is baseless and fabricated. It is an insinuation of the worst kind manufactured out of thin air in order to tarnish the image of this promising...
Investigators from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) returned to India this week to continue the search for remains of U.S. personnel missing since World War II.  Last year, DPAA deployed a team to northeast India for 30 days in search of remains for unaccounted-for U.S. airmen, and this is their fifth mission to India since 2013. There are approximately 400 U.S. airmen missing in India, most of whose remains are believed to be located in the Himalayan Mountains in northeast India.  During World War II, the United States provided supplies to the Chinese Army by flying over the Himalayas, a route known as “The Hump.”  Many of these aircraft went missing and were...
The People's Democratic Council of Karbi-longri (PDCK) an affiliate of the United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFWSEA) Sunday condemned the atrocities committed by what it terms ‘Indian occupation forces’ upon two arrested persons, namely Rau Engleng and Longsing Teron.  “They used electric shocks and beating as a method of torture to extract information and forced them to confess. These practices are gross violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Convention,” said the outfit.  Stating statutes, PDCK said that occupation forces should recognize the International Humanitarian Law and the Law of Armed Conflict, which protect persons as a target for...
One Planet Academy, a digital portal was launched ​in Guwahati on Wednesday as a part of WWF-India’s initiative in partnership with Capgemini to create awareness ​in the area of environment and ​ ​ educate students and citizens through an interactive ​ interface​. Leveraging the affinity of today’s learners towards technology, the website focuses on various environmental themes and is a digital hub for schools, teachers and students that brings under its ambit a digital training and resource centre. One Planet Academy is the first of its kind digital hub for environment education for schools, teachers, students and citizens. The OPA is designed to be a one stop destination for engaging not...
The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, Sunday filed an FIR at Bhangagarh Police Station, Guwahati, seeking immediate arrest and prosecution under the Criminal Procedure Code following remarks made by Jorhat Lok Sabha Constituency MP, Kamakhya Prasad Tassa on Saturday in a meeting held at Sonari in Charaideu District. Tassa described Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi as 'garbage' in the presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. 
The final round of the 10th International Edition of the Wild Wisdom Quiz, organised by WWF-India and Discovery Kids in association with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), was held at WWF-India, New Delhi on October 6, 2017.The event saw participation from 28 city level winners across the country and 2 winners from Nepal.Wild Wisdom Quiz has grown in strength over the last decade and has reached beyond the country, with Nepal running its first edition of the quiz in 2017. In India, the Wild Wisdom Quiz is being run across 817 schools in 14 cities with participation from approximately 50,000 students. Run in the format of a competition, the quiz is a fun way to help children learn...
Organized by Abiogenesis Society with sponsorship from North East Council, Ministry of DoNER, Shillong; Artist Aloud as Digital Promotion Partner, Asian News International (ANI) for international news coverage and Doordarshan Kohima Kendra for live telecast, the festival aims to showcase music made by indigenous social groups of the region.The main event on October 7, will see a very strong line up at IMC Hall, Dimapur from 5:30 pm featuring eight renowned artistes and bands.They are: Summersalt – a folk fusion band from Meghalaya who has been featured in the Bollywood film Rock On 2, Jambili – a folk fusion band from Assam, Imphal Talkies – a six member folk rock band from...
​​A land without ruins is a land without memories – a land without memories is a land without history: so wrote Reverend Abram Joseph Ryan, an American poet, popularly known as the Poet – Priest of the South and also as the Poet-Laureate of the Confederacy. Ruins are not alone physical remains of a building or a structure, but embodiment of memories. The past is deeply entrenched in them. Even in a stage of dilapidation, besides the stories of glory and loss, they also weave narratives of a sense of being part of that past which stand right there to be touched and felt. The historical monuments of the pre-colonial Dimasa state today lie in a state of ruins across vast geographical areas...
The proscribed United Liberation Front of Asom [ULFA-Independent] expresses delight in the arrival of the under seventeen Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup soccer matches in homeland Assam. “I, on behalf of my organisation, thank FIFA for bringing International Football to this remote part of the world and a warm welcome to the FIFA officials and players of different nations to Assam,” states Abhizeet Asom, the elusive Chairman of the outfit.He believes that the people of Assam will immensely benefit by the experience, learning about international standards in football by witnessing the ways and manners of the teenage players from different countries and...