Abstract
Discharging fireworks during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations is a deep-rooted custom in China. In this paper, we analyze the effect of this cultural activity on PM2.5 concentration using both ground observations and satellite data. By combining remote sensing data, the problem of uneven spatial distribution of ground monitoring has been compensated, and the research time span has been expanded. The results show that the extensive firework displays on New Year’s Eve lead to a remarkable increase in nationwide PM2.5 concentration, which were 159~223% of the average level, indicating the instantaneous effect far exceeds that of any other factor over the whole year. However, the averaged PM2.5 concentrations of the celebration period were 0.99~16.32 μg/m3 lower compared to the average values of the corresponding pre-celebration period and post-celebration period, indicating the sustained effect is not very significant. The implementation of firework prohibition policies can greatly reduce the instantaneous PM2.5 increase, but no obvious air quality improvement is observed over the entire celebration period. Combining these findings and the cultural significance of this activity, we recommend that this custom is actively maintained, using new technologies and scientific governance programs to minimize the negative effects.
Highlights
Discharging fireworks during the Chinese Lunar New Year is a custom that has continued for thousands of years
It is rational to believe that the aggravation of PM2.5 pollution caused by the Chinese Lunar New Year fireworks discharge is no stronger than the mitigation brought by the natural cleaning processes and the “holiday effect”
There have been some studies of PM2.5 variation with firework displays, but most of the works have focused on individual cities [40,42,45,48,49,89]
Summary
Discharging fireworks during the Chinese Lunar New Year is a custom that has continued for thousands of years. In the fight against Nian, people unexpectedly discovered that Nian did not like the color red and was afraid of flames and explosions, so they threw bamboo into the fire, and the fire plus the crackling sound successfully scared the monster away. This act of repelling the monster became a symbolic part of the New Year celebration. With the development of gunpowder, fireworks and firecrackers gradually replaced bamboo and became the core element to the Chinese
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