Firework Activities Research Articles

Assessment of ambient air quality in relation to the burning of firecrackers during the festival of Diwali: A case study of Jodhpur City (India).

The study attempts to examine the impact of firework activities during Diwali Festival on ambient air quality of Jodhpur city. Air quality parameters particulate matter of diameter 10μm (PM10), particulate matter of diameter 2.5μm (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and heavy metals in PM2.5 like Pb, Ni, Ba, Al, As and Sr are monitored at two locations, for 15days, starting from 7days before the festival of Diwali, on the day of the festival (Diwali) and 7days after Diwali. On the occasion of Diwali, it was discovered that the 24-h average levels of various pollutants were significantly elevated compared to regular days preceding the festival. Specifically, at the HBO site, the concentrations were notably increased, with sulfur dioxide (SO2) reaching 5.62 times higher, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at 3 times higher, particulate matter of diameter 10μm (PM10) at 2.35 times higher, and particulate matter of diameter 2.5μm (PM2.5) at 1.01 times higher than the usual levels before Diwali. Similarly, at the PTMM site, there were substantial elevations in pollutant concentrations during Diwali compared to pre-festival days, with SO2 registering 2.53 times higher, NO2 at 2.37 times higher, PM2.5 at 1.9 times higher, and PM10 at 1.57 times higher levels than normal. Concentration of Al, Ba, Sr and Pb at HBO site and Al at PTMM site was highest on Diwali day. Air quality index which was in good category on normal days before Diwali, fell into poor category starting from the day before Diwali and remain in poor category on normal days after Diwali. The result indicates the worsening of ambient air quality during Diwali which can adversely impact the human health in terms of various respiratory complications.

Effects of stubble burning and firecrackers on the air quality of Delhi.

Every year at the onset of winter season (October-November), crop residue/parali/stubble burning starts in Punjab and Haryana, leading to heavy air pollution in Delhi, and adversely affecting human and environmental health. During this time, the combination of unfavourable meteorological conditions, additional emissions from stubble burning, and firework activities in this area causes the air quality to furtherdeteriorate. In this study, we have attempted to understand the influence of parali and firecracker incidents on air pollutants' variability over Delhi during the last three years (2020 to 2022). For this purpose, daily average particulate matter and gaseous pollutants data were fetched from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and daily total fire counts and fire radiative power (FRP) data were retrieved from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). A bigger area of severe burning is suggested by higher FRP values and higher fire counts in the middle of November in all the years considered. Three years satellite-based FIRMS data over Punjab and Haryana show the highest number of active fire counts in 2021 (n = 80,505) followed by 2020 (n = 75,428), and 2022 (n = 49,194). More than 90% parali burning incidents were observed in Punjab state only despite the considerable variability in numbers among the years. The significant effect of parali burning was seen on pollutant concentration variability. As the number of fire count increases or decreases in Punjab and Haryana, there is a corresponding increase or decrease in the particulate matter concentration with a time lag of few days (1 to 2days). The trend in backward air mass trajectories suggests that the variable response time of pollutants' concentration is due to local and distant sources with different air mass speeds. Our estimates suggest that stubble burning contributes 50-75% increment in PM2.5 and 40 to 45% increase in PM10 concentration between October and November. A good positive correlation between PM2.5, PM10, NOX, and CO and fire counts (up to 0.8) suggests a strong influence of stubble burning on air quality over Delhi. Furthermore, the firecracker activities significantly increase the concentration of particulate matter with ~100% increment in PM2.5 and ~55% increment in PM10 mass concentrations for a relatively shorter period (1 to 2days).

Beehive Fireworks Festival Effect on the Nearby Atmospheric PM2.5 Level

Sudden short-term air pollution episode is now widely considered to harm human health. Previous research has found that firework activities rapidly raise the PM2.5 level in the ambient air. This study investigates the influence of Yanshuei Beehive Fireworks Festival on atmospheric PM2.5 from February 9th to 12th, 2017. The PM2.5 samples were gathered at 8 sampling sites around Yanshuei and Xinying before (background (B)), trial (T), during (D) and after (A) beehive firework display periods during the Yanshuei Beehive Fireworks Festival. The temporospatial differences of atmospheric PM2.5 before and after fireworks activities were explored. The atmospheric PM2.5 level in major activity areas was significantly higher from the background level in the trial and festival periods, and even after the activity. The study revealed that PM2.5 level reached the highest value of 327 μg m-3 at the major activity areas, which is 6.6 and 5.9 times those at upwind (49.8 μg m-3) and downwind (55.5 μg m-3) sites, respectively. Additionally, the T/B and D/B ratios were 3.01 and 7.19, respectively, around the major activity area. Conversely, the wind rose diagrams and contour lines of PM2.5 concentrations evaluated using Surfer 10.0 around the ambient air demonstrate that the atmospheric PM2.5 levels at Yanshuei and Xinying were similar to each other (35–45 μg m-3). However, the PM2.5 hardly diffused to distant places and accumulated in the local area around the boundary between Yanshuei and Xinying during the Beehive Fireworks Festival, since the wind speed was usually low or even stayed calm. The iso-concentration contour maps show that K+, Cl-, Mg2+ and NO3- are related to firework release during the festival.

Wild goose chase: Geese flee high and far, and with aftereffects from New Year's fireworks

AbstractIn the present Anthropocene, wild animals are globally affected by human activity. Consumer fireworks during New Year (NY) are widely distributed in W‐Europe and cause strong disturbances that are known to incur stress responses in animals. We analyzed GPS tracks of 347 wild migratory geese of four species during eight NYs quantifying the effects of fireworks on individuals. We show that, in parallel with particulate matter increases, during the night of NY geese flew on average 5–16 km further and 40–150 m higher, and more often shifted to new roost sites than on previous nights. This was also true during the 2020–2021 fireworks ban, despite fireworks activity being reduced. Likely to compensate for extra flight costs, most geese moved less and increased their feeding activity in the following days. Our findings indicate negative effects of NY fireworks on wild birds beyond the previously demonstrated immediate response.

Extrapolation of anthropogenic disturbances on hazard elements in PM2.5 in a typical heavy industrial city in northwest China.

Baoji is a typical heavy industrial city in northwest China. Its air quality is greatly impacted by the emission from the factories. Elements in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that are greatly emitted from anthropogenic sources could pose diverse health impacts on humans. In this study, an online AMMS-100 atmospheric heavy metal analyzer was used to quantify 30 elements in PM2.5 under the weak and strong anthropogenic disturbance scenarios before the city lockdown period (from January 9th to 23rd) and the lockdown period (from January 26th to February 9th) due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. During the lockdown period, the average total concentration of total quantified elements was 3475.0 ng/m3, which was 28% and 33% lower than that of the week and strong anthropogenic disturbance scenarios during the pre-lockdown period. The greatest reductions were found for the elements of chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti), manganese (Mn), and Zinc (Zn), consistent with the industrial structure of Baoji. The mass concentrations of most elements showed obvious reductions when the government post-alerted the industries to reduce the operations and production. Dust, traffic sources, combustion, non-ferrous metal processing, and Ti-related industrial processing that are the contributors of the elements in the pre-lockdown period were apportioned by the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. Substantial changes in the quantified elements’ compositions and sources were found in the lockdown period. Health assessment was conducted and characterized by apportioned sources. The highest non-carcinogenic risk (HQ) was seen for Zn, demonstrating the high emissions from the related industrial activities. The concentration level of arsenic (As) exceeded the incremental lifetime carcinogenic risk (ILCR) in the lockdown period. This could be attributed to the traditional firework activities for the celebration of the Chinese New Year within the lockdown period.

Are fireworks a significant episodic source of brown carbon?

We hypothesize that firework events involving the combustion of charcoal fuel, organic binders, metal salts, and cellulose-based wrapping material could be significant transient sources of aerosol brown carbon (BrC). To test this, we couple high time-resolution (1min) measurements of black carbon (BC) and BrC absorption from a 7-wavelength aethalometer with time-integrated (12-24h) measurements of filter extracts, i.e., UV-visible, fluorescence, and Fourier-transformed infrared (FT-IR) signatures of BrC, total and water-soluble organic carbon (OC and WSOC), ionic species, and firework tracer metals during a sampling campaign covering the Diwali fireworks episode in India. In sharp contrast to BC, BrC absorption shows a distinct and considerable rise of 2-4 times during the Diwali period, especially during the hours of peak firework activity, as compared to the background. Fluorescence profiles suggest enrichment of humic-like substances (HULIS) in the firework plume, while the enhancement of BrC absorption in the 400-500nm range suggests the presence of nitroaromatic compounds (NACs). Considerable contributions of WSOC and secondary organics to OC (44.1% and 31.2%, respectively) and of the water-soluble fraction of BrC to total BrC absorption (71.0%) during the Diwali period point toward an atmospherically processed, polar signature of firework-related BrC, which is further confirmed by FT-IR profiles. This aqueous BrC exerts a short-lived but strong effect on atmospheric forcing (12.0% vis-à-vis BC in the UV spectrum), which could affect tropospheric chemistry via UV attenuation and lead to a stabilization of the post-Diwali atmosphere, resulting in enhanced pollutant build-up and exposure.

Appraisal of Variation in Particulate Pollution Loading with a Change Induced by Anthropogenic Cultural Activity Over a South Indian City-Visakhapatnam

The study focusses on the variation of air quality assessed from mass concentrations of air pollutants in the year 2020 (particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O3)) amidst COVID–19 restrictions on firework activity during Diwali festive period in Visakhapatnam city. The results are compared with 2018 and 2019. The results indicate that the firework activity affected ambient air quality. The effect is lower in 2020 than in 2018 and even in 2019. In 2019, the effect is lower compared to 2018 due to the washout of pollutants caused by unusual rains on those days.

Firework activity and environmental sound levels: community impacts and solutions

ABSTRACT We conducted a comprehensive urban sound and community noise perception assessment, using the lens of illegal firework activity during the unique social climate of 2020 as its motivation. Using data gathered from stationary monitoring sites, our research app NoiseScore, emergency (911) and non-emergency (311) phone call reports, and data from the United States Census we observed significant neighborhood differences in sound levels associated with firework activity. We observed that firework activity was dominated by low-frequency sound across all neighborhoods. This trend persisted by time of day and day of week. Further, it was low-frequency sound ranges (and alternative weighting systems like C-weighting and Z-weighting that penalized lower frequency sound levels less) that had the highest correlations with 911 and 311 firework calls. Keywords qualitatively examined from 311 data like ‘bomb’, ‘explosion’, ‘PTSD’ and ‘war zone’ highlight that many residents associate the detonation of fireworks to danger, and view fireworks as an environmental psychological trigger that for many residents – particularly veterans, those living in neighborhoods impacted by gun violence, or victims of gun violence – is quite traumatic. Comparing our findings to existing epidemiological studies suggest that incessant firework activity puts residents at risk for negative cardiovascular and mental health outcomes.

Measurement report: Firework impacts on air quality in Metro Manila, Philippines, during the 2019 New Year revelry

Abstract. Fireworks degrade air quality, reduce visibility, alter atmospheric chemistry, and cause short-term adverse health effects. However, there have not been any comprehensive physicochemical and optical measurements of fireworks and their associated impacts in a Southeast Asia megacity, where fireworks are a regular part of the culture. Size-resolved particulate matter (PM) measurements were made before, during, and after New Year 2019 at the Manila Observatory in Quezon City, Philippines, as part of the Cloud, Aerosol, and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP2Ex). A high-spectral-resolution lidar (HSRL) recorded a substantial increase in backscattered signal associated with high aerosol loading ∼440 m above the surface during the peak of firework activities around 00:00 (local time). This was accompanied by PM2.5 concentrations peaking at 383.9 µg m−3. During the firework event, water-soluble ions and elements, which affect particle formation, growth, and fate, were mostly in the submicrometer diameter range. Total (>0.056 µm) water-soluble bulk particle mass concentrations were enriched by 5.7 times during the fireworks relative to the background (i.e., average of before and after the firework). The water-soluble mass fraction of PM2.5 increased by 18.5 % above that of background values. This corresponded to increased volume fractions of inorganics which increased bulk particle hygroscopicity, kappa (κ), from 0.11 (background) to 0.18 (fireworks). Potassium and non-sea-salt (nss) SO42- contributed the most (70.9 %) to the water-soluble mass, with their mass size distributions shifting from a smaller to a larger submicrometer mode during the firework event. On the other hand, mass size distributions for NO3-, Cl−, and Mg2+ (21.1 % mass contribution) shifted from a supermicrometer mode to a submicrometer mode. Being both uninfluenced by secondary aerosol formation and constituents of firework materials, a subset of species were identified as the best firework tracer species (Cu, Ba, Sr, K+, Al, and Pb). Although these species (excluding K+) only contributed 2.1 % of the total mass concentration of water-soluble ions and elements, they exhibited the highest enrichments (6.1 to 65.2) during the fireworks. Surface microscopy analysis confirmed the presence of potassium/chloride-rich cubic particles along with capsule-shaped particles in firework samples. The results of this study highlight how firework emissions change the physicochemical and optical properties of water-soluble particles (e.g., mass size distribution, composition, hygroscopicity, and aerosol backscatter), which subsequently alters the background aerosol's respirability, influence on surroundings, ability to uptake gases, and viability as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN).

Statistical evaluation of PM2.5 and dissemination of PM2.5, SO2 and NO2 during Diwali at Chennai, India

The aim of this study is to evaluate the pollution caused by fireworks on the day of what is known as Diwali festival which is celebrated every year in October–November. The increase in particle pollutants such as the particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) over a time period around the festival days is noted for a year of 2017 in the city of Chennai, South India, and this increase in pollutant levels is correlated with the increase in health issues present among public during this festival time. It was observed that PM2.5 varied from 30.06 ± 1.5 to 146.82 ± 7.3 µg/m3 with an average of 68.18 ± 26.84 µg/m3, and the mean concentration for three consecutive years (2015–2017) was lower than National Ambient Air Quality Standards. All the important pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM2.5 have been measured during pre-Diwali, Diwali day and after Diwali at Choolaimedu (CM) and Chinmayanagar (CN) areas. Due to dense population, these areas are expected to have high levels of firework activity and are typical for the study. The gaseous pollutants SO2 and NO2 correlated with wind speed, wind direction, temperature and relative humidity. PM2.5 had good correlation with SO2. Eye irritation was found to be the most common health issue, which affected 44.3% of the total surveyed residents during these festival days.

Biomass burning impacts on ambient aerosol at a background site in East China: Insights from a yearlong study

Biomass burning activities are ubiquitous in China. In order to better understand the biomass burning sources and their impacts on aerosol components in the background air of East China, biomass burning tracers, i.e., levoglucosan (LG), mannosan (MN) and non-sea-salt potassium (nss-K+) were quantified at the Lin'an site. The annual average concentrations of LG, MN and nss-K+ in PM2.5 were 0.13 ± 0.14 μg m−3, 0.009 ± 0.010 μg m−3 and 0.65 ± 0.38 μg m−3, respectively. The yearly variations of anhydrosugar tracers, i.e., LG and MN were fairly consistent, as well as nss-K+. However, due to extensive fireworks activity, nss-K+ was observed during a three-day episode from 7 to 9 February 2016 with abnormally high levels (average at 5.38 ± 3.55 μg m−3). The highest levels of biomass burning tracers were associated with the strong continental outflow from inland China in winter, while lower levels of biomass burning tracers were observed in the summer season, influenced by maritime air masses. Combined with the analysis of fire activity data, clear seasonal trends of biomass burning pollution in Lin'an are apparent, ranging from high to low in winter, spring, autumn and summer. By analyzing the LG/MN and LG/nss-K+ ratios, biomass burning aerosols in East China were identified to be predominately associated with burning of rice crop residues. Moreover, based on the relationship between biomass burning tracers and other components in aerosols, biomass burning plays an important role in regulating chemical properties of aerosols in background areas in East China, especially for carbonaceous components.

Fireworks and Seafood Boils: The Epidemiology of Burns in Louisiana.

Epidemiological trends provide a means for targeting efforts in burn prevention. There have been but few regional-specific studies concerning burns in the southern United States. This study describes burn injury trends experienced by a single burn center in Louisiana. We also investigate the temporal relationships of several activities informally known for having a high risk for burn injury among local providers. Data were retrospectively extracted from the records of all patients treated for burn injuries at the regional burn center from 2012 to 2018 in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Demographical data and burn injury characteristics were noted. A total of 6,498 patients were included (1,593 inpatient, 4,905 outpatient). The most common burn etiologies were scald and flame, with flame being associated with more severe injuries. Overall incidence was disproportionally high in males and children less than 4 years of age. Total incidence was highest in Caucasians, though African Americans held the highest annual incidence rate specific to this population. The most common situation at the time of burn injury involved the consumption or preparation of food or beverages. Significant variation was observed in the rates of different injury situations throughout the year. Notably, burns related to seafood, heating, and firework activity occurred more often during crawfish season, colder months, and the months of January and July, respectively. In addition to establishing preliminary trends, these data may be useful in guiding the development of future evidence-based prevention efforts to target the most detrimental burn injuries in this population.

Fireworks: A major source of inorganic and organic aerosols during Christmas and New Year in Mexico city

Abstract The fireworks activity in Christmas and New Year is the culprit of a substantial increase in the particles pollution during those festivity dates in Mexico City. The fireworks' thrilling explosions fill the air with small particles full of metals and organic and inorganic species, and noxious gases such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrous acid (HONO). The stagnant atmosphere at night accumulates the fireworks haze under a shallow boundary layer. By sunrise, once the fireworks activity has stopped, the photolysis of the abundant HONO accumulated throughout the night, leads to a rapid production of nitrate (NO3−), ammonium (NH4+), sulfate (SO42−) and low volatility secondary organic aerosols. This was the pattern observed during the winter of 2013–2014, when online measurements of water-soluble inorganic ions in particles smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5), non-refractory ions and organics in particles smaller than 1 μm (PM1), equivalent black carbon, and above-mentioned gases were conducted. The geometric average of the sum of the three major inorganic ions, NO3−, NH4+ and SO42− accounted for 25% (28%) and 34% (37%) of the total PM2.5 mass during the fireworks activity at night and the following morning on Christmas Day (New Year's Day), respectively. Similarly, their sum in the non-refractory fraction accounted for 37% (49%) and 47% (53%) of the total NR-PM1 mass concentration, while the organic fraction accounted for 56% (44%) and 49% (44%). Biomass burning organic aerosols and semi-volatile oxygenated organic aerosols (BBOA and SV-OOA, respectively) dominated the organic fraction during the fireworks period at night, while the low-volatility oxygenated organic aerosols (LV-OOA) increased substantially their concentration along the post-firework hours the following morning. Concentrations of PM2.5 > 100 μg m−3 and PM1 > 50 μg m−3 were observed on both days, with maximums of 157 and 137 μg m−3 for PM2.5 and PM1, respectively. The meteorological conditions helped to reduce the fireworks impact by late afternoon on both days, limiting the firework episodes to 22 h. The SO42− and NO3− related to the fireworks were not able to offset the deficit of NH4+, and thus the acidity nature of the particles during the mild winter of Mexico City did not change.

Characterizing the composition and evolution of firework-related components in air aerosols during the Spring Festival.

To examine the impacts of fireworks, size-resolved PM samples were collected using a single-particle aerosol mass spectrometer before, during and after the Spring Festival in a megacity in Chengdu, China. Chemical composition and atmospheric behavior of urban particles were studied. Ten major single particle types were resolved with ART-2a algorithm including elemental and organic carbon (ECOC), EC, OC, levoglucosan (LEV), high molecular weight organic molecules (HOM), hard metal (HM), K rich, Na rich and SiO3-. The average OC/EC ratios decreased in the order AY (4.7) > overall (4.1) > NY (4.0) > BY period (3.6), indicating that many organic pollutants had been generated after the Spring Festival. The concentrations of many species exhibited an increasing trend during the firework period, and the SOR and NOR showed a strong increase in NY period. SOR and NOR had a slight positive relationship with fireworks activity but no obvious relationship with temperature.

Short-term degradation of air quality during major firework events in Delhi, India

The effect of firework events on air quality was assessed from ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) collected during the Diwali period in two consecutive years, i.e., November 2015 and October 2016. The extensive firework activities led to the short-term degradation of air quality during the Diwali days. PM2.5 samples were chemically characterised for elements, water-soluble ionic species, organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC). Ba, K, Sr, S, Mg and Na showed significant increases in concentration on Diwali days compared to pre-Diwali days which revealed their association with firecrackers. Concentration of SO42−, NO3−, Cl−, K+ and NH4+ ions contributed to the increases in PM2.5 concentration on Diwali days. Higher OC/EC ratios indicated the formation of secondary organic carbon during the Diwali period. This study concludes that the high PM2.5 level during Diwali 2016 was a result of contribution from fireworks on the Diwali night, trans-regional movement of pollutants due to crop residue burning, low wind speed (0.15 m s−1), and high humidity. It was observed that short-term exposure to Diwali is plausible to generate 1.3% increase in non-carcinogenic hazard index due to elements Al and Ba during Diwali 2016, whereas no significant variation was observed for the carcinogenic risk due to Pb. However, in 2015, the increase in non-carcinogenic hazard index was appreciably lower as compared to 2016.

Water-soluble ions and carbon content of size-segregated aerosols in New Delhi, India: direct and indirect influences of firework displays.

The particle size distribution and water-soluble inorganic ion (WSII) and carbonaceous species in size-segregated aerosols, Dp<0.95, 0.95<Dp<1.5, 1.5<Dp<3.0, 3.0<Dp<7.2, and 7.2<Dp<10μm, were investigated during Diwali firework displays in New Delhi, India. The firework activity had the maximum contribution to the mass loading of PM0.95 (786μg/m3) followed by PM0.95-1.5 (216μg/m3) with all other three fractions accounting to a total of 214μg/m3. The percentage contributions of WSII to the total mass of aerosols were highest in first two size fractions (39 and 40%, respectively), compared to other fractions. The firework marker ion (Mg2+, Cl-, and K+) mass concentration shows higher values in PM0.95 during Diwali compared to before Diwali period. The mass size distribution of particles, NH4+, K+, Cl-, SO42-, Mg2+, and NO3-, also showed changes on the Diwali night compared to previous and after days. The high Cl-/Na+ (5.6) and OC/EC (3.4) ratio of PM0.95 can be used as the indicators of firework displays. The lowering of mixing height on Diwali night to 50m compared to before (277mts) and after (269mts) Diwali period further concentrated the aerosols in ambient atmosphere. Therefore, the firework display not only released the gaseous or elemental constituent but also influenced the temperature profile and both put together result in high aerosol concentrations, WSII, OC, and BC contents in ambient atmosphere. The alveolar, respirable, and inhalable fractions accounted for 64.6, 90.8, and 97.8%, respectively, of the total PM10 mass. People stay exposed to such high pollution level in short span of 6-8h and experience adverse health impacts due to high mass concentrations and the chemical components of fine aerosols.

Evaluation of health risk associated with fireworks activity at Central London

Risk analysis is extremely important in toxicology and public health studies. Health risk associated with the exposure to potentially toxic elements (PTEs), including As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mn, Ni, Sb, Sr, V, and Zn, of ambient fine particles less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) at day and night time during firework events was assessed. An hourly PM2.5 elemental measurements were conducted from October 16 to November 16, 2014 at central London, using Xact™ 625 automated multi-metals monitor. Results showed higher concentration of metals attributable to firework combustion emissions (including: Ba, Cu, Sb, and Sr) at night time compared to day time. 95th percentile of total PM2.5-PTEs showed combined (inhalation and ingestion) non-cancer risk for children (hazardous index, HI: 3.0) and adults (HI: 1.58) at night time, implicating the fireworks events; PM2.5-PTEs was found to be potentially harmful to only children (HI: 2.2) at day time. Cancer risk of the inhalation and the ingestion of PM2.5-As and PM2.5-Cr was lower than the threshold level of concern for both children and adults.

Short term introduction of pollutants into the atmosphere at a location in the Brahmaputra Basin: A case study

Intensive fire ignition and cracker work activities takes place during the festival of light called Diwali in India, celebrated for a period of few days in the month of October or November every year. The firecracker releases several pollutants [such as particulate matter (PM), black carbon (BC), organics, trace gases] near the surface. The effect of firecrackers on the atmospheric constituents is evaluated over Dibrugarh by monitoring the concentrations of PM, PM10 (particle radius ≤10 µm), PM2.5 (particle radius ≤2.5 µm) and BC during the Diwali and post-Diwali days (5 days after the Diwali Festival) in the years 2009 and 2010. Monthly average concentrations of each species except for the Diwali and post Diwali days is considered as the background concentrations. The concentration levels of the pollutants as recorded on the Diwali days are found to be a number of times higher (5.33 and 2.50 times for PM10, 5.74 and 2.65 times for PM2.5, 1.21 and 1.66 times for BC for the year 2009 and 2010, respectively) than the background levels at the peak hours of the fire work activity. To delineate the contribution of fireworks to the high concentrations of the species we performed air mass back trajectory analysis using the NOAA–HYSPLIT model in order to examine the existence of the transported aerosols. The ten day accumulated MODIS fire maps are also analyzed to mark out the contribution of aerosols from biomass burning. These analyses reveal that the higher concentrations of near surface aerosols including BC during the festival is due to the local effect of firework activities, neither because of long–range transport nor due to biomass burning activities. However, the higher concentration of pollutants for short periods has not degraded air quality substantially to cause health risks to people exposed to the festival in this environment.

Wide-range particle characterization and elemental concentration in Beijing aerosol during the 2013 Spring Festival

The number and mass concentration, size distribution, and the concentration of 16 elements were studied in aerosol samples during the Spring Festival celebrations in 2013 in Beijing, China. Both the number and mass concentration increased sharply in a wide range from 10 nm to 10 μm during the firecrackers and fireworks activities. The prominent increase of the number concentration was in 50 nm–500 nm with a peak of 1.7 × 105/cm3 at 150 nm, which is 8 times higher than that after 1.5 h. The highest mass concentration was in 320–560 nm, which is 4 times higher than the control. K, Mg, Sr, Ba and Pb increased sharply during the firework activities in PM10. Although the aerosol emission from firework activities is a short-term air quality degradation event, there may be a substantial hazard arising from the chemical composition of the emitted particles.

Impact of fireworks on ambient air quality: a case study

Fireworks activity causes short-term air pollution. The festival of Diwali is celebrated with firecrackers in India during October/November every year. The ambient air quality was assessed in Vadodara city, Gujarat state of India during Diwali festival for the consecutive years 2009, 2010, and 2011. During the festival day, the average concentration of PM10 was increased 35 times compared with a normal day before Diwali. Similarly, concentration of SO2 has increased 23 times and NOx has increased 3 times on the festival day. The diurnal pattern of the above pollutants showed an increase in the night. Air quality index calculated for 24 h average during Diwali 2009 in two stations exceeded a value of 125 indicating severe air pollution in Vadodara city. It is also confirmed that the yearly pollution load is getting increased in Vadodara city as the air quality index value has a gradual increase from 2009 to 2011. The good correlation coefficient between different pollutants confirmed the firework as the prime source of pollution. Based on PM10 concentration, the highest mortality rate was found to be 30.4 %. The short-term high accumulation of PM10 is a matter of serious concern for city dwellers as it can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause many respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.