FIREWORKS on Independence Day and Guy Fawkes produce a lot of smoke when they
burn, but they could also create pollution in an unexpected way. The bright
flashes they emit may mimic the effect of sunlight and generate ozone in the air
we breathe.
Arun Attri and his colleagues from Nehru University in New Delhi, India,
looked at levels of nitrogen oxides and ozone in the air in Delhi during the
Hindu festival Diwali in 1999. Diwali, the “festival of lights”, marks the
beginning of the Hindu New Year and is celebrated by lighting lamps and
exploding firecrackers.
At ground…
