Türkiye to switch off lights for Earth Hour to commemorate quake victims

ISTANBUL (AA) – Türkiye will switch off lights for Earth Hour on Saturday to commemorate victims of the powerful earthquakes which killed more than 50,000 people.

In a statement, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature - Türkiye said the Earth Hour event is held around the world on the last Saturday of March every year at the call of the foundation, and this year will take place on March 25 between 8.30 and 9.30 p.m. local time (1730-1830GMT).

As part of the event led by WWF-Türkiye, the lights of monuments, institutions and houses in Türkiye will be turned off in memory of those who lost their lives in the twin devastating tremors on Feb. 6.

The nongovernmental organization also calls for a “green recovery” mobilization to rebuild earthquake-affected areas in a disaster-resilient manner during Earth Hour. Participants will be able to support the “green recovery” campaign by signing up on the Earth Hour event website.

“Time almost stopped on February 6. For 16 years, we have turned the lights off for an hour to draw attention to the steps to be taken for the future of our world, this time we will turn off the lights to commemorate our losses,” Asli Pasinli, the head of WWF Türkiye, was quoted as saying in the statement.

“This year, Earth Hour is the hour for us to commemorate the losses of the most devastating earthquakes in our country’s history,” she added.

Started in Sydney in 2007 as a symbolic lights-out event, WWF’s flagship global environmental action Earth Hour has grown to become one of the world’s largest grassroots movements for the environment, inspiring individuals, communities, businesses, and organizations in 190 countries and territories to take tangible environmental action.