New Year fireworks foul Beijing’s air
January 24th, 2012 - 7:57 pm ICT by IANSBeijing, Jan 24 (IANS) China’s New Year fireworks not just left thousands of tonnes of scrap in capital Beijing but also pushed the city’s air pollution to hazardous level. The morning winds, however, finally helped blow it away Tuesday, officials said.
The Beijing Environment Protection Monitoring Centre said at the city’s second ring road it detected 1,593 mg of particulate matter per cubic metre of air at 2 a.m. Monday, after hours of fireworks on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, Xinhua reported.
Monday’s air pollution level was 80 times higher than what was recorded Sunday evening.
The municipal bureau of environmental protection said the concentration of sulfur dioxide in air, produced by fireworks powder burning, was as high as 1,318 mg per cubic metre of air Monday at 1 a.m.
According to a Chinese legend, fireworks are intended to scare away the “Nian” (year in Chinese), a mythical beast that preys on people and livestock at the turn of the year. The monster, however, is afraid of loud bangs and the red colour.
China’s big cities, including Beijing, had instituted bans on fireworks, as it caused air pollution and also injuries and even deaths to people. However, the Beijing authorities lifted the ban in 2005 under public demand as fireworks create a festive atmosphere.
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Tags: air pollution, beijing authorities, chinese legend, chinese lunar new year, cubic metre, environmental protection, festive atmosphere, fireworks, jan 24, loud bangs, lunar new year, monitoring centre, mythical beast, particulate matter, pollution level, preys, red colour, sulfur dioxide, sunday evening, xinhua