Dubai to go dark for Earth Hour

As the city prepares to observe one hour of darkness on March 29 to mark Earth Hour, authorities are urging residents to make it a practice of saving electricity before the UAE ban on the sale of incandescent light bulbs effective from July 1.

“It takes a little bit of time because the private sector has to get rid of all the inefficient light bulbs from the market, so consumers will not be able to purchase them from the beginning of July. But there are exceptions, when it comes to hospitals and other areas, whose consumption is low,” said Ida Tillisch, Director-General, Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) – WWF.

“It is expensive but this would reduce 940,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and can also lead to a huge savings for households of almost Dh2,300, and the payback period would be in less than a year if you swap your light bulbs for LED [light-emitting diode] light bulbs,” explained Tillisch.

Earth Hour falls on March 29, and will be held at Bay Avenue Park near Burj Khalifa from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.