One Hour. No Lights. Bangkok Goes Dark This Saturday.
It started in Sydney in 2007 with 2.2 million people and a single idea: switch off together, at the same time, for exactly one hour. Eighteen years later, Earth Hour is still running, and this Saturday, Bangkok joins the rest of the world in going dark.
The government has called on residents across the country to turn off lights and unused appliances on Saturday, 28 March from 20:30 to 21:30. That first Australian switch-off cut energy use by 10.2 percent, roughly equivalent to pulling 48,000 cars off the road for a year. One hour did that.
In Bangkok, the Metropolitan Electricity Authority is leading the push across the capital, Nonthaburi, and Samut Prakan. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has extended the invitation to homes, offices, condos, dormitories, schools, and universities. The ask is simple: lights off, unused appliances off, one hour.
Whether or not you think a single hour moves the needle on climate change, there is something worth sitting with here. Bangkok is one of the most electricity-hungry cities in Southeast Asia. The grid runs hard. This is a rare moment where the collective action is visible, literal, and immediate.
Turn the lights off at 20:30 this Saturday. See what the city looks like when it breathes.
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