Impact of fireworks burning on air quality during the Spring Festival in 2021-2022 in Linyi, a central city in the North China Plain

Na Zhao; Gang Wang; Zhongyi Zhu; Zhonglin Liu; Guangmao Tian; Yuanquan Liu; Wenkang Gao; Jianlei Lang

doi:10.1007/s11356-022-23395-w

Impact of fireworks burning on air quality during the Spring Festival in 2021-2022 in Linyi, a central city in the North China Plain

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Feb;30(7):17915-17925. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-23395-w. Epub 2022 Oct 7.

Authors

Na Zhao¹, Gang Wang², Zhongyi Zhu³, Zhonglin Liu⁴, Guangmao Tian⁵, Yuanquan Liu⁵, Wenkang Gao⁶, Jianlei Lang⁷

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
² Department of Environmental and Safety Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, China. wangg@upc.edu.cn.
³ Department of Environmental and Safety Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, China.
⁴ Shandong Provincial Eco-environment Monitoring Center, Linyi, 276000, China.
⁵ Linyi Ecological Environmental Bureau, Linyi, 276007, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Beijing on Regional Air Pollution Control, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China.

PMID: 36205858
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-23395-w

Abstract

The management of fireworks has been strengthened during the Spring Festival in 2022 compared with that in 2021 in Linyi, a central city in the North China Plain. Online measurements of the chemical components of PM_2.5 were conducted during the Spring Festival in 2021-2022 to assess the influence of fireworks burning (FB) on air quality. Remarkable achievements have been made in improving air quality during FB period (FBP) in 2021-2022 attributing to the stringent regional emission reduction measures, fireworks control, and favorable meteorological conditions with the concentrations of PM_2.5, water-soluble ions, and carbonaceous aerosols decreasing by 73.6%, 78.8%, and 73.5%, respectively. The PM_2.5 concentrations increased by 96.3% during FBP compared with those during non-FB period (NFBP) in 2021, while the opposite phenomenon was observed in 2022 with PM_2.5 concentrations decreasing by 56.2% because of the favorable meteorological condition during FBP in 2022. As indicators of FB, the Cl^-, K⁺, and Mg²⁺ concentrations showed an increasing trend during FBP compared with that during NFBP, both in 2021 and 2022, but had little effect on other components. The contribution of FB to PM_2.5 decreased from 68.4% in 2021 to 15.7% in 2022 based on the relative ratio method, indicating the various measures conducted by all districts and counties in Linyi helped achieve near zero fireworks emissions by 2022. Besides, the contribution of FB to PM_2.5 showed a straight-line upward trend from 19:00 on New Year's Eve, reached its peak (76.1%) at 3:00 on Lunar New Year's Day, while the highest value was only 35.0% during FBP in 2022, indicating the implementation of fireworks ban measures in Linyi achieved a good effect on pollution peak cutting. This study has emphasized the necessity of FB restricting during special holidays.

Keywords: Carbonaceous aerosols; Fireworks burning; PM2.5 pollution; Positive matrix factorization; Relative ratio method; Water-soluble ions.

MeSH terms

Aerosols / analysis
Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollution*
China
Environmental Monitoring
Holidays
Particulate Matter / analysis
Seasons
Urbanization

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter
Aerosols