Heavy air pollution in N China from fireworks to last till Friday

Lighting fireworks under unfavorable weather conditions during the Spring Festival holiday is a major cause of heavy air pollution in North China during the holiday and will last till Friday, expert said.

Chai Fahe, deputy director of the National Joint Research Center on Air Pollution Causes and Control, said that lighting fireworks and firecrackers had largely increased airborne pollutants in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and neighboring areas, northeastern provinces and 11 cities in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces.

“In PM 2.5 components in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and neighboring areas, an increase in the amount of Cl-, K+ and Mg+, which make up fireworks, was detected.

“That indicated that air pollution had a strong relationship with fireworks and firecrackers,” he said.

Analysis by the center shows that during some peak periods of pollution in some cities, the contribution rate of fireworks and firecrackers to PM 2.5 can reach up to about 80 percent. Rural areas had more pollution generated by fireworks than urban areas.

In some areas that implemented a ban on fireworks, the air quality was better. In Henan province where people were not allowed to set off fireworks, the PM 2.5 density dropped by about 45 percent year-on-year.

Warm and humid air formed unfavorable weather conditions, which make it hard for pollutants to disperse, Chai said.

“Cold air that affected China recently was generally weak and near-surface wind speeds have fallen below 2 meters per second across these areas. High relative humidity caused heavy fog. These all make the air quality worse,” Chai said.

Meanwhile, pollution from industries like chemistry and heating did not decrease though during the Spring Festival, factories were expected to take a rest and shut down, according to the center.

“After all, some power plants must continue to operate to ensure the heating in winter. So the emissions of this nature did not decrease,” he said.

Chai suggested that under unfavorable meteorological conditions, the government should especially make more efforts such as adjusting the structure of the industry, energy and transportation to improve air quality.