Earth Hour: Lights switched off across planet from Samoa and Hong Kong to Buckingham Palace

Over 7,000 cities in more than 170 countries and millions of people took part in global switch-off event

WWF encourages people around the world to turn off lights for Earth Hour 2019

Lights at landmarks, businesses and homes were switched off for Earth Hour on Saturday.

The annual event aims to highlight the impact humans have on the planet due to climate change, pollution, plastic and food production.

Over 7,000 cities in more than 170 countries took part in 2019.

Organisers at conservation charity WWF said they hoped the event would send a message to international leaders that protecting the Earth should be top of their agenda.

Proceedings kicked off this year in the Pacific island nation of Samoa at 8:30pm local time.

The event has since swept across Australia, Asia and Europe.

Earth Hour events have spread to more than 180 countries since the movement started in 2007.

Activists at events on Saturday called for greater awareness and more sparing use of resources, especially fossil fuels that produce carbon gasses and lead to global warming.

WWF said that people living today were the first generation to experience the effects of climate change, and the last to be able to change it, while the planet is also suffering plastic pollution and deforestation.

The charity encouraged people to pledge personal actions as part of this year’s Earth Hour, such as turning the washing machine down to 30C, avoiding single-use plastics, planning a staycation or holiday nearer to home, changing the way they eat or helping restore nature in their local area.

If you would like to see how Earth Hour 2019 unfolded, please see what was our live coverage below:

[30 March 2019 20:02 · Zamira Rahim]

The Eiffel Tower's famed lights have been dimmed to mark Earth Hour.

Anne Hidalgo, Paris' mayor, posted a video on Twitter of the moment the landmark was cast into shadow.

She said 200 other monuments in the French capital would also switch their lights off and that the gesture was to remind the city of its commitment to climate change.

[30 March 2019 20:10 · Zamira Rahim]

Some more photos now from Moscow, where lights were switched off at the Kremlin a little while ago.

[30 March 2019 20:15 · Zamira Rahim]

As the baton is passed to Europe, here's some footage from Earth Hour events in Singapore, Kazakhstan, India, Taiwan and Australia.

We now have 15 minutes to go before the event is marked in the UK.

[30 March 2019 20:20 · Zamira Rahim]

Top tourist sites in coal-reliant Poland are turning off their lights for Earth Hour, in solidarity with those calling for better climate protection. 

In Warsaw, the spired landmark Palace of Culture and Science has turned off its night illumination, along with some churches and Old Town walls, all popular tourist venues. 

In the southern renaissance city of Krakow, which sees millions of tourists from around the world each year, the central vaulted Cloth Market and the 14th-century red brick St. Mary's Basilica also went dark for the event.

[30 March 2019 20:30 · Zamira Rahim]

It is 8.30pm in the UK and Earth Hour is being marked at numerous sites, with lights being turned off simultaneously at Buckingham Palace, the Shard, Cardiff Castle, Liverpool Cathedral and Old Trafford, among other sites.