The capital city of Hanoi , together with other 19 cities and provinces nationwide, on March 27 switched off lights for an hour in response to the “Earth Hour” campaign.

With a message “small action for a big change”, the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee asked the municipal Department for Electricity to switch off lights at a number of famous public places, such as Ngoc Son Temple , Turtle Tower , The Huc Bridge, the Hanoi Opera House and the West Lake .

According to the National Electricity System Control Centre, Vietnam has saved 500,000 kWh after switching off the lights in the rush hour for using electricity, from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm. In HCM City alone, 67,000 kWh was saved.

The global campaign, which was initiated by the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF), started in Sydney , Australia in 2007. Since then, many countries around the world has participated in the campaign in a bid to minimise impacts of the climate change.

Some 1 billion people from 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries and territories worldwide joined the campaign this year, according to WWF./.