Hazardous smog could choke Beijing as residents celebrate Lunar New Year with fireworks
Environmental monitoring centre warns of rapid deterioration of air quality
Beijing’s air quality could drop to hazardous levels when celebrations of the Lunar New Year holiday reach their climax with fireworks lighting up the sky at midnight on Friday, according to the municipal environmental monitoring centre.
Setting off large numbers of fireworks – a traditional way to celebrate the Lunar New Year throughout China – over a short period of time can worsen air quality quickly.
Following midnight of Lunar New Year’s eve in 2016, Beijing’s reading for PM 2.5 – fine suspended particles small enough to enter the lungs – exceeded the air quality index level to 699 micrograms per cubic meters at 2am and hazardous concentrations of more than 300 micrograms per cubic meter lingered for seven to eight hours, according to the centre.
A report published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection on Thursday monitored the air pollution levels of 74 cities across China from 2014 to 2016 during China’s Lunar New Year holiday, which typically runs for two weeks from Lunar New Year’s eve to the Lantern Festival. It showed there was a strong chance of harmful air pollution overnight on the eve of the holiday, mainly caused by setting off fireworks.
