Post date: Jan 31, 2014 1:22:41 PM
China: Fireworks Air Quality
China Central Television (CCTV) - China's capital Beijing saw its air pollution level soar around Thursday midnight when the frenzy of New Year fireworks and firecrackers spread across the city.
As the clock struck midnight on Thursday, also the eve of Chinese Lunar New Year, people around the city set off fireworks and crackers as a ritual to drive away the evil and welcome the new year.Caused by the smoke and dust that came along with the explosion of fireworks and firecrackers, Beijing's PM 2.5 density surged to 451 micrograms per cubic meters at 01:00 Friday, much higher than the density around 18:00 to 24:00 Thursday night which ranged from 140 to 160 micrograms per cubic meters.
According to the city's environmental monitoring center, this year's air quality on the lunar New Year eve was better than that of last year when the density of PM 2.5 particles soared to 600 micrograms per cubic meters at one point.
"This indicated that people set off less fireworks and firecrackers than they did last year," said Li Yunting, director of the Atmosphere Office of the Beijing Environmental Protection Monitoring Center.
The city's Public Security Bureau also dispatched helicopters to patrol over the city and detect possible fires.
Meanwhile, Li pointed out that this year's pollution of fireworks and firecrackers will linger on in Beijing for a longer period compared to the last year when a cold front helped quickly disperse the pollution.
The Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival holiday, is the most important festival for the Chinese people to have family reunions. The week-long Spring Festival holiday season starts on January 31 this year.
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