Lights out: Earth Hour to be marked at home this year

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) – Millions of people across the world will mark Earth Hour on March 28 from the comfort of their homes as the coronavirus pandemic has placed entire countries under lockdown and banned public gatherings.

The day, which started in 2007 in Sydney, is marked on the last Saturday of March ever year. People switch off their lights to show support for the planet.

"In light of the ongoing health crisis as a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, the Earth Hour global organizing team recommends all individuals to participate in Earth Hour virtually this year, for public health and safety," the movement said in a statement on Wednesday.

Mentioning that staying at home does not mean having an "unmemorable" Earth Hour, the group listed 20 things in the statement that can be done at home or online to celebrate Earth Hour.

Putting “switch off your lights” on top of the list, it said: “This is the DNA of the Earth Hour movement and the easiest way to participate this Earth Hour. Simply switch off all non-essential lights for an hour!"

Apart from the light-out event, dinner-in-the-dark, practice some night-photography and writing letter to your future eco-warrior self are some of the suggestion on the list.

Like many economic, sports and cultural events, climate demonstrations have been affected by the virus known as COVID-19 but it has not stopped demonstrations.

Environmental groups and climate activists around the world shifted protests and activism from the streets to online because of the deadly viral outbreak.

Since first being detected in Wuhan, China in December, the novel coronavirus has claimed 8,939 lives globally, according to global data maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

More than 219,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed in at least 158 countries and territories, with Europe as the new epicenter of the pandemic, according to the university.