This year, more than 100 cities have joined the event, which is being held in Russia for the ninth time, from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Kaliningrad.

This year, Earth Hour was overshadowed by the tragedy that took place in Rostov-on-Don. WWF Russia together with other organizers of the action decided to cancel all festive events in Moscow, including a concert on Tverskaya Square, a performance by the orchestra of the Ministry of Defense, a light show, flash mobs and a bike ride.

Also the World Foundation wildlife turned to the organizers of the actions in other Russian cities with a request to exclude all entertainment elements from the event programs, and to support the action only by turning off the lights and illuminating buildings. Including in St. Petersburg, the race from the Tauride Garden and the action on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island were canceled, in Murmansk - an event at the city ice rink, in Krasnodar - a photo quest, etc.

A press briefing was held on Red Square in Moscow with the participation of the director of WWF Russia Igor Chestin, minister natural resources and ecology Sergei Donskoy and the head of the Department of Nature Management and Protection environment Anton Kulbachevsky. All speakers expressed sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims. The protesters lit candles.

In Moscow, at 20:30, the light was “turned off” with the help of a symbolic switch installed on Tverskaya Square. The lights went out in the houses of the residents of the capital, and the illumination of more than 1,500 buildings was turned off, including the Moscow Kremlin, "Stalinist" skyscrapers, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Luzhniki, the Bolshoi Theater, the buildings of the State Duma and the Federation Council, most of the buildings on the Garden Ring, Novy Arbat , Tverskaya street. For the first time, the illumination of the Moscow City towers and the Mail.ru Group building on Leningradsky Prospekt went out.

Although the festivities have been cancelled, those who wish could join the action by turning off the lights in their homes. Told about it Sergey Donskoy: « Turning off the light, we remember the problems of ecology. This is the right time to pay attention to environmental issues... I encourage everyone to participate in Earth Hour».

Igor Chestin, in turn noted: Earth Hour is, first of all, an occasion to reflect that every year we have less and less resources. This year's Earth Hour is dedicated to a topic that is very close to all of us - the Ecological Footprint. The impact we as residents have on the environment».

It was also possible to take part in the Earth Hour using the website WWF.RU/60. You can still mark yourself on it on the Earth Hour interactive map. On this moment more 120 thousand people supported the action on the site.

WWF Russia will sum up the final results of the action on Monday, March 21. It will become known how many people took part in it in Russia. In addition, the city will be selected, the inhabitants of which were most actively marked on the map. This city will receive the title of the capital of "Earth Hour-2016".

Earth Hour - 2016 in the world

The number of countries participating in the environmental action in 2016 increased to 178, which is 6 more than last year. At least 2 billion people in the world participate in the action.

In the world, the illumination of such famous sights as London's Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, ​​the Sydney Opera theatre, Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Acropolis of Athens, St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican, Empire State Building and Times Square in New York, Niagara Falls, international Airport Los Angeles, and many more.

Earth Hour - International environmental action, initiated by WWF in 2007, calling on people around the world to turn off the lights and household appliances for one hour as a sign of concern for the future of the planet. Official website of the action -

March 19 in all the world will pass the international annual campaign "Earth Hour" it is proposed to turn off electrical appliances from 20:30 to 21:30 to express solidarity environmental issues on our planet. The action is organized by the World Wildlife Fund ( WWF), was first held in Australia in 2007. Since then, every year on one of the last Saturdays of March, it has been held in many countries around the world. In 2015, more than 2 billion people from 172 countries took part - the action became the most massive environmental initiative on the planet.

Earth Hour London 2013 globallookpress.com

Every year the initiative is gaining more and more great popularity, only in our country this year it will be supported in more than 120 cities: in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Rostov, Murmansk, Tyumen, Penza, Tomsk, Tula, Samara, Volgograd, Ufa and other cities. For one hour, it is planned to turn off the external illumination of the Moscow Kremlin. As noted in the presidential press service, this year the action will be held under the slogan "Take a step towards the planet" with its help, the organizers hope to draw attention to environmental culture and the importance of forming new habits in order to avoid inefficient use of natural resources.

The World Wildlife Fund notes that the theme of this year's Earth Hour in Russia was the ecological footprint, a measure of human impact on the planet, which makes it possible to calculate the surface area of ​​the planet that can provide inhabitants with resources and absorb waste. So, if everyone on the planet lived like Russians, it would take 2.5 Earths.

In Moscow, more than 900 buildings will go out, including GUM, Government House and City Hall, St. Basil's Cathedral. In St. Petersburg, the illumination of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Palace, Trinity, Birzhevoy and Blagoveshchensky bridges, as well as several architectural ensembles, will be turned off. 103 nature reserves and 48 national parks countries. Russia has been participating in the event since 2008, the Kremlin has started turning off its external lighting since 2013, the number of participants in our country varies from 16 to 20 million people.

"Earth Hour" in Moscow, 2014. globallookpress.com

The organizers note that the lights are turned off not so much for the sake of saving electricity, but as a sign of indifference to environmental problems and the future of the Earth.

Earth Hour in Moscow, 2013. globallookpress.com

Every year in Russia, as part of the campaign, attention is drawn to current environmental initiatives: in 2013, a collection of signatures was organized for a ban on industrial logging in protective forests, in 2014 the organizers asked for support for projects to protect rare species animals, in 2015 the participants supported the initiative to stop projects for the extraction of hydrocarbons on the Arctic shelf.

In preparation for the action in 2016, the Foundation talks about the necessary steps to change their daily habits and create a more environmentally friendly lifestyle in 7 areas: shopping, food, transport and travel, processing, housing, water and culture. On the site WWF it is proposed to take a special test to find out your ecofootprint, as well as to support a project to save the untouched forests of Russia, which are threatened by logging. It is necessary to raise 2 million rubles to save 100-year-old forests in the Arkhangelsk Region, which is equivalent to 10 million trees (4,000 hectares of forests).

Earth Hour in Budapest, 2015. globallookpress.com

The forest is called the “keeper of the climate” trees not only saturate the air with oxygen, but also help slow down global warming. Currently, the Fund is working on the conservation of intact forests in the Amur, Barents Sea, Altai-Sayan and Caucasus regions by mid-2017, it is planned to save 75 million trees (150 thousand hectares of forests).

Energy companies have their own concerns: a simultaneous shutdown and subsequent switching on by many consumers can lead to a jump in consumption, which can negatively affect the functioning of the power system. However, the Foundation refutes these assumptions, since such jumps are common for stations power fluctuations during the event from 2009 to 2015 were much less than those that could pose a threat. In addition, there are time intervals when mass “on” and “off” are common: from 7 to 9 in the morning, as well as in the evening.

It has its own logo, which until 2011 looked like "60", which meant 60 minutes that people devote to planet Earth, taking measures for its well-being. Since 2011, the logo began to look like "60+" and denote a call to the participants of the action to go beyond the boundaries of one hour and take one more step for the planet by making their own eco-feat.

For the first time the action "Earth Hour" was held on the initiative of WWF Australia in 2007 in Sydney. More than two million people took part in it. Already on next year 35 countries of the world have joined Earth Hour. At the appointed time, the illumination of the Colosseum in Rome (Italy), the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (USA) and many other attractions went out. Every year new countries join Earth Hour and everyone more people their participation in it show indifference to the future of the planet.

Today "Earth Hour" is the most massive environmental action on the planet. More than two billion people around the world, more than 170 countries and about seven thousand cities take part in it.

In 2015, 172 countries took part in the action, the lights were turned off at more than 10.4 thousand famous buildings and monuments.

In Russia, WWF officially held the action for the first time in 2009, however, even earlier in the country it was supported by a number of enthusiasts. Already in 2013, more than 70 cities of Russia joined the Earth Hour. In Moscow, the illumination of such famous historical buildings as the Moscow Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, GUM and many others was turned off.

At the same time, various actions, an ecological flash mob and a bike ride will be held in Moscow, according to official portal mayor and government of Moscow.

To become a member of the flash mob, you need to come to the monument to Yuri Dolgoruky, located opposite the city hall building on the street. Tverskaya, 13.

The main participants in the action will be the schools that have become winners and laureates of the Ecological Flash Mob 2017 contest. The current "Earth Hour" will be held under the slogan "Change yourself, not the planet."

The main theme of the action will be the environmental responsibility of every person living on the planet.

As a reminder, Earth Hour is an international event. As part of this action, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) calls for turning off the lights and household electrical appliances for just 60 minutes as a sign of concern for the future of our planet.

In addition, the illumination of all the most famous buildings and monuments around the world will be turned off for one hour.

This year the international "Earth Hour" will be held for the tenth time. The action is carried out in order to arouse interest in the problem of climate change, the energy unification of mankind.

This event was first organized in 2007 in Australia and received worldwide support the very next year.

In 2009, the action became the most massive in the history of mankind, more than a billion inhabitants of the planet took part in it.

Earth Hour has been held in Russia since 2009. In Moscow, a few years ago, the backlight was turned off only on 70-80 buildings, in 2014 their number reached about 400, and in 2016 - about 800.

Last year, the events on Red Square became the climax in the capital. Exactly at 20.30, the illumination of the architectural ensemble of the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, GUM, Manezh, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the buildings of the government of the Russian Federation and the government of Moscow, Moscow State University and other skyscrapers was turned off.

Earth Hour was supported by residents of more than 120 Russian cities. Up to 20 million people participated in the action.

On March 19, from 20:30 to 21:30 local time, Earth Hour 2016 was held - an annual international event held by the World Wildlife Fund, which calls for turning off lights and other electrical appliances for 1 hour. The essence of the event is to symbolically turn off the lights and household appliances for an hour as a sign of indifference to environmental problems. During the action, the illumination of the most famous buildings and architectural monuments of world capitals goes out.

The number of countries participating in the environmental action in 2016 increased to 178 countries. At least two billion people in the world participate in the action.

Interactive photos.

1. Palace of Imperial Harmony in China. The palace was built in 1783 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor in accordance with the ancient imperial rules. It is a wooden square building with a two-level roof, crowned with a golden sphere. The palace stands in the middle of a round pond, across which are thrown four marble bridges. Water entered the pond through the heads of dragons. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein):


2. Cologne Cathedral, object world heritage UNESCO, Germany, 19 March 2016. [Click on the photo to turn the light on/off] (Photo by Wolfgang Rattay | Reuters):

3. The financial district of Pudong in Shanghai, March 19, 2016. [Click on the photo to turn the light on/off] (Photo by Aly Song | Reuters):

4. Central Tokyo and Tokyo Tower, March 19, 2016. [Click on the photo to turn the light on/off] (Photo by Thomas Peter | Reuters):

5. Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge, March 19, 2016. [Click on the photo to turn the light on/off] (Photo by David Gray | Reuters):

6. In Moscow, the international environmental action "Earth Hour", within which the lights and advertising in the capital were turned off, was combined with mourning for the victims of the plane crash that occurred in Rostov-on-Don.

St. Basil's Cathedral - Orthodox church located on Red Square in Moscow. [Click on the photo to turn the light on/off] (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko):

7. The Eiffel Tower in Paris, March 19, 2016. [Click on the photo to turn the light on/off] (Photo by Ludovic Marin):

8. central District in Singapore, March 19, 2016. [Click on the photo to turn the light on/off] (Photo by Edgar Su | Reuters):

[Click on the photo to turn the light on/off] (Photo by Jorge Silva | Reuters):

In Moscow, at 20:30, the light was “turned off” with the help of a symbolic switch installed on Tverskaya Square. The illumination of more than 1,500 buildings was turned off, including the Moscow Kremlin, "Stalinist" skyscrapers, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Luzhniki, the Bolshoi Theater, the buildings of the State Duma and the Federation Council, most of the buildings on the Garden Ring, Novy Arbat, Tverskaya Street. For the first time, the illumination of the Moscow City towers went out.

10. The Kremlin, GUM and St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, March 19, 2016. [Click on the photo to turn the light on/off] (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev | Reuters):

11. Buddhist temple Wat Arun (or Temple of Dawn) in Bangkok, named after the Indian goddess dawn Aruna. The temple is located on the western bank of the Chao Phraya River. [Click on the photo to turn the light on/off] (Photo by Christophe Archambault).