Sparks may fly over firework index

China's central observatory will release an index for firework usage during the approaching Spring Festival at the national level for the first time, China Meteorological Administration (CMA) announced Monday.

Level 1 in the four-level index suggests a suitable meteorological condition to set off fireworks, while level 4 indicates an "extremely improper condition," according to the CMA website. The public is advised to reduce or avoid lighting fireworks under level 2 and 3.

The index will be released from January 29 to February 14 nationwide, the general period when people are allowed to set off fireworks. The index considers multiple factors including safety, pollutant diffusion conditions, wind, humidity and precipitation possibilities in the next 12 hours, said Zhang Hengde, a senior engineer at the CMA.

"Strong winds can blow the smog away, but also increase the fire risk," said Zhang.

Since 2006, the capital has seen a spike in pollution on lunar new year's eve, according to data from the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau. In 2010, the peak reading of PM10 reached 1014 at midnight, 10 times that of at 6 pm, indicating severe pollution. PM2.5 and sulfur dioxide density also greatly increased.

Despite severe air pollution across the country, Chinese people still feel emotionally attached to fireworks during the holiday, although many now say they will try to light fewer.

"It's exciting and makes the holiday festive," Hua Lin, a graduate student in Beijing, told the Global Times.

The CMA index does not link to compulsory measures, but the authorities hope to guide the public toward a "rational attitude" in lighting fireworks, said Zhang Jiancheng, an official with the CMA.

However, alongside other cities, including Wuhan in Hubei province and Taiyuan in Shanxi province that have imposed much stricter fireworks policies, Beijing would ban them if the capital faces an orange or red air pollution alert during the holiday. Firework sales would also be suspended.

Wei Bo, head of marketing from Panda Fireworks, a major manufacturer in the country, told the Global Times that the company had seen an 8 to 10 percent drop in sales this year, although the peak sales period has not arrived yet.

"We put around 30 percent of environmentally friendly firework products into the market this year, which contain no sulfur. They are 3 to 5 percent more expensive, but preliminary monitoring indicates that retailers and customers like them," he said.

Even though the eco-friendly firework products have no heavy metal and sulfur, it's still very hard to reach "zero-pollution," Wang Gengchen, a research fellow with the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Beijing News.

"The lighting process not only increases the density of atmospheric particulates, but also generates hazardous emissions such as sulfur dioxide by burning metal powders," said Wang.