Switching off lights worldwide does more harm than good - expert.

Switching off lights worldwide does more harm than good - expert. (Tass).

Switching off the lights for the environmental campaign "Earth Hour" is doing more harm than good, because it makes electricity more expensive, according to professor of the department of nuclear and thermal power plants of the Institute of Power Engineering of the Tomsk Polytechnic University Valery Litvak, quoted by the university’s press service.

"Earth Hour" is an annual international environmental campaign of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), aimed at drawing attention to the problem of preserving the planet's resources. At the same time for one hour people around the world switch off the lights, and the buildings - symbols of certain countries - switch off exterior decorative lighting.

"Earth Hour" is the most popular campaign in the human history. In 2015 more than 2 bln people from 172 countries participated in the event, including 20 mln Russians.

Saving energy ends up more expensive

"This event, in my opinion, based on the conviction "switched off the lights - done something good". In fact - this is not the case. All people in the power industry know that. Electrical power systems work well with constant load. The more constant the load schedule, the more cost efficient production of power," the university’s press service quoted the scientist.

According to him, rapid decline of turbine load occurs during a power outage. Power system will have to adapt to this new regime - to reduce the production of electricity. If the drop is significant, only hydroelectric power stations will be able to pick up the process, all the other stations simply will not be able to cope with the drop.

"But this is not all - because in an hour the light everywhere will be turned on. Stations will need to increase the load. Meanwhile, it is difficult to do at nuclear power plants, thermal power plants pick it up but the pace is not very fast. Again, the entire burden falls on hydroelectric power stations.

So, we first unloaded generators and now load them again. To put it mildly, it is very stressful for the whole power complex. Hooking up turbo-generator into electrical network could be compared to such a complex process as childbirth," the professor said.

Therefore, according to him, there will be more harm than good from power outage around the world. "We just need to train ourselves to use energy more prudently. Turn off the lights leaving the house, not boiling a full kettle for just two cups of tea, not running washing machine for a pair of socks," Litvak said. Read the full story here.

Swedish town refuses to turn lights off to protect women from rape attacks. #Earthhour https://t.co/QklKiFz2bg

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) March 19, 2016

Sandy: Live Updates and Analysis Tuesday.

Hurricane Sandy: Live Updates and Analysis.

Hurricane Tracker Here.

Tracking map here.

The Weather Channel and weather.com continue to follow the progress of Sandy closely as it heads for the Northeast. Here you will find updates, analysis and the latest advisories for Sandy.

The Hurricane Centre said northerly winds were increasing over southern Ontario Monday night, with some areas reporting gusts above 80 kilometres per hour which were expected to get stronger. Meanwhile, south western Nova Scotia was also being whipped by gusty winds.

Officials warned residents in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes to prepare, though the East Coast of the United States was expected to bear the brunt of the unusually large storm.

Sandy, which forecasters downgraded from a hurricane to an intense post-tropical storm, made landfall in New Jersey early Monday evening. It was expected to continue to churn north and northwest, lashing parts of Canada Monday night.

Forecasters warned that the change in the storm's status was purely technical, based on its shape and internal temperature. It still packed hurricane-force wind, and remained dangerous to those in its path.

Southern Ontario and Quebec were expected to see the strongest winds, with gusts up to 100 kilometres per hour and between 20 to 40 millimetres of rain, although higher amounts were possible in some areas.

That will make for a soggy Tuesday, but that level wasn't enough to trigger a rainfall warning.

Starting Tuesday morning, the Maritime provinces will see a lot more rain — up to 50 millimetres — and weaker winds than Ontario, though still strong at an expected 70 kilometres per hour.

The precipitation could turn into snow over parts of Ontario and western Quebec, said Environment Canada.

The storm is also expected to whip up the water, generating waves of up to seven metres in Lake Huron. The Quebec Storm Prediction Centre issued storm surge warnings for pounding waves in the Gaspe and north shore of the St. Lawrence River. The south shore of Nova Scotia could also see several-metre high waves.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said in a statement that the military and the Canadian Coast Guard are on standby. Health Canada is conducting generator checks and has reviewed the National Emergency Stockpile, he said.

The stockpile, maintained by the Public Health Agency of Canada, contains supplies such as beds, blankets and antibiotics.

John Byrne, the director general of disaster management for the Red Cross, said the organization had 550 volunteers on standby in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces.

Utility companies in Ontario were preparing for the onslaught of the storm by having crews ready to respond to any calls about damage. By Monday night, more than 15,000 customers were without power in the province.

Emergency Management Ontario warned the storm may result in flooding, road closures and power failure. It said people should put away any objects that can be blown away by wind, such as garbage lids and Halloween decorations, to prevent damage or injury.

Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office said residents who live along the coast should watch out for pounding surf and high winds, particularly in the southwestern corner of the province.

150 hallucinatory images of superstorm Sandy.

Bounty crew member's body found, captain still missing

150 hallucinatory images of superstorm Sandy.HT: HLN.(Google Translate).

Video - LIVE Superstorm Sandy Coverage - The Weather Channel.

New York Black out.

...RECORD HIGH WATER LEVEL AT THE BATTERY NY... A RECORD HIGH WATER LEVEL OF 13.88 FEET WAS SET AT THE BATTERY NY TODAY AT 9:24 PM. THIS BREAKS THE OLDEST OFFICIAL RECORD OF 10.02 FEET SET IN 1960 WITH HURRICANE DONNA.

Picture - Floodwaters inundate Ground Zero construction site in NYC.

HT: Jon Passantino@passantino.

Sandy power outages hit 4.1 million as of 10pm.