Pollution concerns overwhelm fireworks sales

Fireworks have always been an essential part of Chinese New Year, but the tradition is changing. As environmental awareness grows, people's enthusiasm for the festive sights and sounds seem to have waned.

The Lunar New Year is approaching, and for Chinese, that means fireworks. But as environmental concerns rise, sales are falling.

To add to the squeeze, Beijing has allocated fewer seasonal retail venues for fireworks, with just a little over 11 hundred across the capital. That's a 12 percent drop from the year before. And some people are going so far as to boycott fireworks altogether.

In Beijing alone, the PM2.5 level has surged to unacceptable highs in recent years. And throughout the nation, more and more netizens are proposing a ban on fireworks.

Pollution from fireworks certainly cannot compare with other sources such as car exhaust, but it shows a change of attitude.