Earth Hour: See people and cities across the world taking part, from Australia to the UAE

Every year, millions of people across the world switch off their lights for one hour on March 28. The campaign is called Earth Hour and it aims to call attention to climate change, global warming and the loss of biodiversity. This year was no different.

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Organised by the World Wildlife Fund, it first started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 and has since expanded to nearly 200 countries and territories, becoming a global solidarity movement in which people and businesses switch off unnecessary lights and electronic items for one hour from 8.30pm to 9.30pm, UAE time.

Earth Hour unites the planet

Take a look through the gallery above to see photos of landmarks across the globe going dark last night.

Individuals and companies across the UAE joined in, too. ''The UAE Energy Plan 2050 aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 70 per cent, increase clean energy use by 50 per cent and improve energy efficiency by 40 per cent,'' said Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry, as he urged people to participate.

Flick through the gallery below to see photos of people in the UAE taking part:

A family in Dubai playing with their pet during Earth Hour 2020. Ruel Pableo for The National

This year, as a big portion of the world's population is being asked to stay at home amid the coronavirus outbreak, Earth Hour organisers asked people to get creative and fill the internet with "positive and uplifting images".

They then shared the world's highlights – which includes a shot of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque – on their Twitter account after the hour was up:

Watch the moment Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque goes dark here:

Even Toronto Zoo's gorillas joined in yesterday:

Apartments in buildings across Dubai went dark:

As did UAE embassies across the world, including in Latvia:

People switched off their lights and lit candles instead:

One UAE resident even sang a "declaration of hope" via Instagram:

Sudhanshu Sarronwala of WWF International also shared his thoughts from a locked-down apartment in Switzerland.

"Earth Hour is about people. It’s about people coming together to signal their solidarity for a cause. To signal that we’re in this together. Whether it be for addressing climate change, reversing biodiversity loss or tackling, with the rest of the world, the onset of a pandemic we could not imagine."

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Read more:

What is Earth Hour? Why the UAE will be going dark on Saturday

Coronavirus: emissions fall shows what can be achieved on climate change, experts say

Dr Jane Goodall on Trump, being misquoted at Davos and why death is her 'next big adventure'

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