Fig 1: Earth Hour 2026 (Photo credit: iStock/Dave Hutchison Photography)
Earth Hour. 28 March 2026. 8:30-9:30 pm local time. Switch off for Earth hour!
The message sent by our local council reminded people to turn off non-essential electric lights for one hour to show commitment to their planet. As I made a mental note, I could not help but ponder on how wonderful and how futile it seemed at the same time. Of course, it is an affirmative step; there hardly anything wrong about people coming together at Earth hour to contemplate upon the well-being of our genteel mother, and our place in her kingdom. And yet, the nagging scepticism remained. Is this just a token gesture, which will hardly dent our addiction to overconsumption? Will we not go back to our old ways, once the hour of reflection is past? Do we even realize what ‘our old ways‘ of overconsumption are leading us to?
I chanced upon an entry in my journal entry from Jan 2025. Two big happenings. One was big news - the 2025 California wildfires. An abnormally hot 2024 was responsible for a quarter of a moisture deficit, which became an important factor in igniting the fires. Fourteen destructive wildfires raced through California, killing 31 people, destroying >18,000 homes and structures, and burning more than 57,529 acres (23,281 ha; 89.889 sq mi) of land.
The other big happening didn’t really become big news; it was mentioned more as an afterthought, or appeared as a news ticker. And yet, it was impossible to ignore the seriousness of what that news ticker said: In 2024, for the first time ever, the average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above its pre-industrial level.
Why is this important? What does it even mean? As per the Paris agreement of 2015, countries around the world had pledged to keep average global temperatures below 1.5 degree C above the pre-industrial levels. In 2024, we managed to do what we had together pledged not to - breach the threshold mark we had set for our own safety, and our children’s future.
The coincidence in the timing of the two events was alarming; it was a cause-effect study by a beleaguered planet. Yet, the cause seemed to hardly matter; the effect took up all the headlines. Until we actively contemplate and address the reasons behind climate chaos, the repercussions of it will continue. A point to ponder upon during the one hour of darkness at Earth Hour.
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”
Fig: Earth hour (Photo credit: iStock/nito100)