Saturday night, the 28 th of February, was observed as the Earth Hour, where more than 2800 cities participated in an effort to draw attention towards global warming.

23 cities worldwide switched off the lights in their businesses and homes for an hour. This symbolic gesture was an effort to bring awareness about global warming. Capitol Dome in Washington, State Empire Building in the Big Apple, Big Ben of London, all went dark. The first city to turn off its lights was Sydney, the origin of this trend which started two years back.

The excess use of electricity, the direct contributor of global warming is major environmental concern. With the polar caps melting at a faster rate, floods in one state, and drought in the neighboring state, the changes of wind patterns etc are common scenarios today.

Earth Hour was a success. Public was seen taking walks in the moonlight in the usually busy streets on other days. Malls went dark. Restaurants were lit up with candles. The participation has been greater this year, and hope there is a gradual progress every year. Not only an hour of power saving is enough; however, it must be a deliberate habit that must be inculcated in all of us.