Firework bans help cut pollution

Violators could face fines of 500 yuan and being put on a credit blacklist in Shanghai

The centuries-old tradition of Chinese ushering in the Lunar New Year by setting off firecrackers and fireworks may have come to an end in many cities with the enforcement of the strictest-ever bans in a bid to reduce pollution and improve public safety.

In Shanghai, lighting firecrackers and fireworks is prohibited around the clock anywhere within the outer ring road, according to a regulation that came into effect at the beginning of this year.

The ban also extends to all areas of the municipality on days when the air quality index surpasses 201, considered a level of severe pollution.

Those who buy such pyrotechnics in Shanghai will have to register their name, ID number, address, phone number and the type of firecrackers and fireworks with the fire control authority.

Violators will be fined a maximum of 500 yuan ($76) and find their names on a credit blacklist, which would be an obstacle for applying for loans and jobs, or receiving public welfare.

Some of the areas in Jiangsu province's major cities, including Nanjing, Zhangjiagang and Kunshan, have also adopted bans, according to the provincial police.

During the week after Lunar New Year's Eve, people in Nanjing are forbidden from lighting pyrotechnics in the city's central five districts and people in Zhangjiagang are banned from setting them off within the Second Ring Road.

Similarly, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, lighting firecrackers and fireworks is forbidden in six central districts.

In Beijing, lighting firecrackers and fireworks is allowed around the clock on Lunar New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, and from 7 am to midnight from the second to the 15th day of the lunar calendar.

"We encourage residents not to set off such pyrotechnics, or to use them less, for better air quality. When air pollution that may last for 72 hours or more is forecast, playing with firecrackers and fireworks will be banned all over the city," read a notice from the Beijing municipal government.

Firecrackers and fireworks - which people also set off on their wedding day, the opening day of a business or the day they move to a new house - produce PM 2.5, airborne particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter that have been identified as a substance that can cause cancer by the World Health Organization.

According to China News Service, at least 128 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Jinan, Nanjing and Xi'an, experienced severe air pollution during the first hour after Chinese New Year countdown in 2014. The pollutants were largely caused by firecrackers and fireworks.

They are also responsible for more than 90 percent of the fire hazards on Lunar New Year's Eve, according to the police.

Nearly 1,050 fires caused by the pyrotechnics occurred during the first hour of Chinese New Year celebrations in 2014.

People have been using fewer pyrotechnics in recent years, mainly in a bid to improve air quality. Roughly 90 metric tons of debris from firecrackers and fireworks were cleared away on the Spring Festival in 2015 in Nanjing, compared to 225 tons in the previous year.

However, some people said that they would hate to lose the Lunar New Year ritual.

"I'm afraid that the atmosphere of New Year celebrations will be substantially weakened without the sound of firecrackers coming one after another, before and after the countdown," said Zhong Tao, a 34-year-old Shanghai native.

"However, I'm glad that my 15-month-old daughter can have a sound sleep during the night."

zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn