When is Earth Hour and what is it?

Earth Hour happens every year on March 23 and landmarks across the world have their lights switched off between 8.30pm and 9.30pm local time.

It's led by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and encourages everyone to turn off lights and appliances for an hour to give something to the planet.

According to the Earth Hour website, last year more than 410,000 hours were given by supporters in more than 190 countries and territories.

Previous years have seen Big Ben, the Sydney Opera House and Eiffel Tower go dark in support of it.

This year, landmarks going dark in London are reported to be the Barbican Arts Centre, the Old Bailey, Tower Bridge, and the OXO Tower.

It started in 2007 and as well as landmarks having their lights off for an hour, individuals switch off their lights to show symbolic support for the planet and to highlight the environmental issues affecting it.

The Earth Hour website says: "The next seven years are crucial to our futures as Planet Earth needs to stay under the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold to avoid irreversible damage to our planet and we need to reverse nature loss by 2030, ending the decade with more nature than we started, not less.

"To make this happen, individuals, communities, businesses, and governments must all urgently step up their efforts to protect and restore our one shared home."

The WWF recently published its 2024 manifesto calling on MPs to take urgent action on biodiversity loss and the environment.

The UK Government has committed to urgent international action to tackle climate change.

The Climate Change Act says the UK must ensure the country's net carbon account for the year 2050 is net zero.

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