Bangkok joins "60+Earth Hour 2019"

BANGKOK, March 28 (TNA) - As previous years, Bangkok will, on March 30, join the "60+Earth Hour 2019" campaign with thousands of other major cities in 188 countries worldwide, expected to reduce the power consumption of at least 2,200 megawatts totally in the capital during the one-hour campaign. Viparat Chaiyanukit, Deputy Permanent Secretary for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), presided over an event on Thursday marking the city's participation in this year's 60+Earth Hour worldwide campaign, aimed mainly to help relieve the problem of global warming or climate change. During the event, the BMA deputy permanent secretary led representatives of some districts in Bangkok to parade around the Victory Monument to campaign for people in the capital to switch off electric lights in their households, buildings and communities for one hour on March 30, from 8:30pm-9:30pm. The BMA deputy permanent secretary announced that BMA and other 262 agencies will also organize a symbolic activity marking the Thai capital's participation in the "60+Earth Hour 2019" campaign together with about 7,000 major cities in 188 countries worldwide at a front outdoor plaza of the CentralWorld shopping complex in Pathumwan area. Besides, BMA will switch off electric lights along 1-2 roads in every district in the capital, but only selected sections of the targeted roads will become blackout during the one-hour period. The BMA deputy permanent secretary said that over 500 public and private places in Bangkok will join the "60+Earth Hour 2019" campaign, including the Grand Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Temple of the Dawn, the Sraket Rajavaravihara Temple, the Giant Swing and the Rama VIII Bridge, inviting the general public to also switch off electric lights in their households and buildings during the one-hour campaign. According to the BMA deputy permanent secretary, Bangkok has participated in the annual "60+Earth Hour" campaign since 2008, one year after the worldwide activity was first launched, with a total cut of 10,259 tons of electricity consumption in the capital over the past decade, saving the power cost of about 64.78 million baht totally. (TNA)