Some of the nation's most prominent landmarks will be plunged into darkness for an hour on Saturday to commemorate Earth Hour, a global awareness event aimed at fighting climate change. Buildings including the Burj al Arab, the Emirates Palace, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Yas Hotel and Yas Marina Circuit will turn their lights off for an hour on the day.
The initiative, which starts from 8.30pm, is organised by the Emirates Wildlife Society-World Wide Fund for Nature. Razan al Mubarak, the society's managing director, predicted that this year's event would see record participation across the UAE. "The number of participants has increased tremendously," she said. "There are more than 200 public and private organisations and thousands of individuals."
Participants should turn off all non-essential lights and take appliances off standby. Appliances left on standby account for up to 10 per cent of household electricity use. In 2008, Dubai became the first Arab city to join the global campaign. Its electricity use during the hour fell by 100,000 kilowatt hours - the equivalent of 20 per cent of the emirate's lighting load. vtodorova@thenational.ae
