Shanghai enjoys clearer New Year air following firework ban

Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center

Caption: The PM2.5 concentration was kept at a much lower level during the Chinese New Year's Eve in Shanghai compared with that in the same period last year.

Shanghai's environment on the Chinese New Year’s Eve was much better than previous years, thanks to the firework ban within the outer ring of the city, Shanghai's Environment Protection Bureau said today.

Setting off fireworks to celebrate the coming of the new year has been a tradition in China, but Shanghai, as well as hundreds of other cities, have banned the practice because of environmental and safety issues.

The city enjoyed a Chinese New Year’s Eve of good air quality this year. By 1am on February 16, the PM 2.5 concentration in Shanghai was 35 micrograms, and the air quality index remained at “excellent.”

Meanwhile, about 26,000 sanitation workers were sent out during Chinese New Year’s Eve, overall clearing 1,813 tons of garbage from the streets.

Outside the firework ban area, workers cleaned up about 2.4 tons of residue from fireworks which, compared with the same time of last year, was about 70 percent less.