Fireworks blamed for pollution

SHANGHAI - Fireworks set off during the Chinese lunar new year holiday led to air pollution throughout the country, while also being blamed as the cause of many fire accidents and injuries.

Often set off during the Chinese New Year holiday with a goal of warding off evil spirits, fireworks have come at a serious environmental cost, filling the air with high levels of sulfur and thick smoke and pushing up the air-pollution index across large cities.

In Shanghai, the real-time air quality monitoring and forecasting system showed that the local pollution index jumped from below 100 at 8 pm on Sunday to 439 at midnight on Monday, a time span that coincided with frequent ignitions of fireworks.