Earth Hour observed in 2,800 cities

WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- More than 2,800 cities worldwide participated in Earth Hour by going dark for an hour, organizers said Sunday.

Starting at 8:30 p.m. local time Saturday, people in 83 countries and all 24 time zones turned off lights in their homes and businesses in the symbolic gesture, meant to draw attention to global warming and climate change, CNN reported.

The lights went out at the Capitol dome in Washington as well as New York's Empire State Building and the George Washington Bridge. That came four hours after the illuminated face of London's landmark Big Ben clock tower went dark, the U.S. broadcaster said.

Sydney, where the Earth Hour phenomenon began two years ago, was the first city to turn off its lights Saturday. The event organizers reported hundreds of people gathered at the city's harbor to watch the dimming cityscape at 8:30 p.m., while in China, the state-run news agency Xinhua said the lights at the "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium and other buildings were switched off.