Earth Hour, an event celebrated in more than 160 countries worldwide, was celebrated here in Dubai with great zeal and enthusiasm by citizens participating actively in all the seven emirates for a common cause, conserving the Earth?s Energy and Water Resources. Being a responsible citizen concerned for the environment, I went to the Earth Hour celebrations at the Bay Avenue Park, Dubai next to the iconic Burj Khalifa on the 28^th of March, 2015. I have been celebrating this Earth Hour event from many years.

This year?s Earth Hour celebrations were spearheaded by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). This year?s theme was ?Be the change, change climate change?. This Earth Hour was marked by another Guinness World Record attempt by Dubai for the largest Earth Hour Infinity Mirror measuring 7sqm. This was a set of reflective mirrors and glass layers that created an illusion of an infinite distance. Through this DEWA conveyed its message that their efforts in conserving and generating green solutions for the generations to come are infinite. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) also inaugurated the Hybrid Taxi Service in an attempt to reduce pollution from vehicle exhaust by the use of environment friendly fuel and electricity. These two masterpiece showcases conveying the message of Sustainable Development made my Earth Hour special and will be etched in my memory for life.

I reached the Bay Avenue Park at 5 p.m. and indulged in the fun-filled activities there. The main stage present at the event was the main attraction that showcased a plethora of performances such as the Shadow show, fire act, bubble show, etc. The rich culture and heritage of Dubai was also showcased at the event such as Emirati Cuisine, henna designing and cultural dress up studio. This Earth Hour also marked the first anniversary of the two mascots of DEWA, Noor and Hayat, who?s Birthday was celebrated on stage. Many other booths were set up to create awareness among the public about various environmental issues.

The walk commenced sharp at 8:30 p.m. As soon as the timer clicked down to 0:0:00:00, all the lights were off. The whole place was glowing with LED lights from everyone?s caps. The lights of Burj Khalifa were also switched off for one hour. Various other iconic locations like Dubai international Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport had been switching off lights over 24 days before the Earth Hour and conserved more than 230,000 KWh of electricity.

This year?s Earth Hour not only held the message for Energy resource conservation but also of Water Resource conservation. This is because UAE has extremely less freshwater resources, so drinking water is extracted from seawater which consumes a lot of energy by the process of desalination. Therefore it was incumbent to conserve water resources as well. Over the last seven years DEWA was successful in reducing 1291 MWh electricity and saving 775 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

In a nut shell, the Earth Hour event 2015 was really thrilling and adventurous with a plethora of fun-filled activities spearheaded by DEWA. This year?s Earth Hour also witnessed world records and showcased innovative technologies aimed at a green and eco-friendly lifestyle. We all should keep in mind that Earth Hour should not be celebrated for one hour only, but throughout our life every day. If all the billions and billions of people conserve the depleting resources for the future generations then the day will not be far when Mother Nature will reward us for the good deeds in the form of life for the generations to come.

My Earth Hour Report was also published in the Khaleej Times Newspaper which can be found on the link below

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-letter-display.asp?xfile=data/letters/2015/March/letters_March81.xml&section=letters