Press releases

MINSK, 23 March (BelTA) – The lighting will be turned off along major avenues of Minsk from 20.30 to 21.30 during Earth Hour on 25 March, BelTA learned from chief engineer at Mingorsvet company Oleg Glushenkov.

Building lighting will be off for an hour along Independence Avenue, Pobeditelei Avenue, Partizansky Avenue, Pritytskogo Street and other streets. We invite all organizations and Minskers to join the Earth Hour event. The lights will be off on the National Library, shopping centers, universities and cafes, architectural monuments,” Oleg Glushenkov said.

Earth Hour is an international environmental movement that encourages individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to show they care about the future of the planet. The purpose is not to save electricity but rather to encourage responsible environmental behavior.

The annual Earth Hour campaign engages over two billion people in 7,000 cities and towns in 170 countries. People are free to decide which appliances to switch off and for how long, and the city authorities initiate turning off the illumination of municipal buildings. However, it is recommended that streets lights, traffic lights and aircraft navigation lights should stay on for safety reasons.

“We cannot improve the environment considerably by turning off the lights for one hour. Still, the Earth Hour event will raise people’s awareness of the fact that by saving electricity we reduce the release of harmful emissions into the environment. The campaign is an opportunity for everyone concerned to make their contribution to improving the health of our planet,” representatives of the Minsk City Committee of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection said.