Nagaland observes Earth Hour 2014

Nagaland tonight observed Earth Hour 2014 by turning off the lights for an hour between 8:30pm and 9:30pm. Earth Hour is held on the last Saturday of every March - closely coinciding with the equinox to ensure most cities are in darkness as the Earth rotates - encouraging individuals, communities, households, and business establishments to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol of their commitment to the planet and its well-being.

Nagaland State consumes about 120MW of electricity during peak hours, out which about 70% is from burning fossil fuels.

About 543kG of coal is required to generate 1MWH of energy which produces equivalent amount of about 500kg of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Considering local context, about 84MW (70%) comes from thermal based power stations, which is equivalent to emission of 43MT of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. By switching off lights for 1 hour, the State would be mitigating emission of GHGs by about 43000kgs, source said.