S'pore observes Earth Hour, many buildings switch off lights for an hour

S'pore observes Earth Hour, many buildings switch off lights for an hour
By Timothy Ouyang, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Thousands of people across Singapore observed Earth Hour on Saturday, as individuals at home and organisations switched off their lights for an hour.

Many parts of Singapore were plunged into darkness, as the lights went off at 8.30pm Singapore time, and remained switched off until 9.30pm.

Earth Hour is a global initiative by the World Wide Fund for Nature to raise awareness of climate change. It is the second year that Earth Hour is being observed in Singapore.

Various hotels across the Marina Bay area switched off their lights at 8.30pm sharp.

Even the Singapore Flyer took part in observing Earth Hour this year.

The Fullerton Hotel dimmed its lights at 8.30pm sharp, while over at Raffles Place, the colourful lights outlining the Maybank building were switched off as well.

Downtown at Orchard Road, shopping malls also joined in to play their part in raising awareness of global warming and climate change.

More than 10,000 people pledged to take part in Earth Hour this year, and more than 450 businesses also said they would switch off their lights.

Earlier, on Saturday evening, hundreds of people gathered at the Esplanade Park for a picnic. Some of them told Channel NewsAsia that they were there to show support for Earth Hour, while others just wanted to have some fun.

Singapore is of one of the many countries in Asia that have joined the world in switching off its lights for 60 minutes.

Altogether, some 83 countries are expected to observe Earth Hour this year.

- CNA/ms

- wong chee tat :)