Earth Hour deemed a success by organisers

Tens of millions of people switched off their lights for Earth Hour over the weekend according to reports.

The initiative, first held in Sydney last year, has now become a global event with people in every continent, including Antartica, taking part. As a result, cities around the world were plunged into darkness between 8pm and 9pm local time on Saturday evening to highlight the issues of energy waste and climate change.

Results from "host nation" Australia suggest that over half of the country's adult population took part in the event, with Energy Australia, the company which supplies most of the electricity to Sydney, reporting around an 8.4% drop in energy usage in the city during Earth Hour.

Elsewhere, another 25 international Earth Hour "flagship cities" switched off in 10 countries across the globe alongside an additional 370 supporting cities, making Earth Hour the largest voluntary power down event in history.

Read more about the event at the official Earth Hour website.

Did you take part in Earth Hour? Do you think that events like these can have a positive impact on raising global awareness of climate change issues? Have your say by clicking here.

Switch off for Earth Hour - March 29th

Created to take a stand against climate chnage, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.

Originating in Sydney in 2007, the Earth Hour campaign has now gained global attention. This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm on 29 March 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane and Tel Aviv will unite and switch off for Earth Hour.

Cities around the world, including many in the UK, will be taking part in this amazing international event so why not make sure that you, your friends and family and everyone else you know are aware of the event and take part.

Find out more at the official website - http://www.earthhour.org/ - and remember to switch off on March 29th at 8pm.