Remember, remember the 5th of November; gunpowder, particles and smog

Singh, Ajit; Bloss, W. J.; Pope, Francis D.

doi:10.1002/wea.2587

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Singh et al . () found both large decreases in visibility across the UK on BFN relative to previous days, and increased air pollutants at a monitoring site in Nottingham. High relative humidity increased the size of aerosols from BFN, which further reduced visibility.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

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Observing UK Bonfire Night pollution from space: analysis of atmospheric aerosol

Pope¹,

Marshall

O'Kane

2016

Weather

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UK Bonfire Night (BFN) is an annual event on 5 November which celebrates the failed ‘gunpowder plot’ of Guy Fawkes, who intended to blow up the Houses of Parliament. This event is celebrated with firework and bonfire displays, which reduce visibility and increase air pollutant concentrations. A two‐ to four‐fold increase in particulate matter concentrations was seen at some surface monitoring sites. Satellite measurements of aerosol optical depth found increases of 10–90% between days before and after BFN.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Similarly to Singh et al . (), this study used surface synoptic observations (SYNOP) measurements of visibility, for the period 2005–2011, to assess the impact of BFN. Past Weather Code (PWC) data was downloaded from the HadISD dataset (Dunn et al ., ), which is available at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadisd/.…”

Section: Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observing UK Bonfire Night pollution from space: analysis of atmospheric aerosol

Pope¹,

Marshall

O'Kane

2016

Weather

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“…Similarly, Zhang et al (2006) described the PM influence upon visibility reduction at Beijing, China. Festivals involving fireworks, which release aerosol particles upon detonation, are a good example of spatially and temporally localized pollution events which may lead to reduced visibility (Singh et al, 2015;Seidel and Birnbaum, 2015;Kong et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

60 years of UK visibility measurements: impact of meteorology and atmospheric pollutants on visibility

2017

Self Cite

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Abstract. Reduced visibility is an indicator of poor air quality. Moreover, degradation in visibility can be hazardous to human safety; for example, low visibility can lead to road, rail, sea and air accidents. In this paper, we explore the combined influence of atmospheric aerosol particle and gas characteristics, and meteorology, on long-term visibility. We use visibility data from eight meteorological stations, situated in the UK, which have been running since the 1950s. The site locations include urban, rural and marine environments. Most stations show a long-term trend of increasing visibility, which is indicative of reductions in air pollution, especially in urban areas. Additionally, the visibility at all sites shows a very clear dependence on relative humidity, indicating the importance of aerosol hygroscopicity on the ability of aerosol particles to scatter radiation. The dependence of visibility on other meteorological parameters, such as wind speed and wind direction, is also investigated. Most stations show long-term increases in temperature which can be ascribed to climate change, land-use changes (e.g. urban heat island effects) or a combination of both; the observed effect is greatest in urban areas. The impact of this temperature change upon local relative humidity is discussed. To explain the long-term visibility trends and their dependence on meteorological conditions, the measured data were fitted to a newly developed light-extinction model to generate predictions of historic aerosol and gas scattering and absorbing properties. In general, an excellent fit was achieved between measured and modelled visibility for all eight sites. The model incorporates parameterizations of aerosol hygroscopicity, particle concentration, particle scattering, and particle and gas absorption. This new model should be applicable and is easily transferrable to other data sets worldwide. Hence, historical visibility data can be used to assess trends in aerosol particle properties. This approach may help constrain global model simulations which attempt to generate aerosol fields for time periods when observational data are scarce or non-existent. Both the measured visibility and the modelled aerosol properties reported in this paper highlight the success of the UK's Clean Air Act, which was passed in 1956, in cleaning the atmosphere of visibility-reducing pollutants.

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“…There are numerous reports on the impact of key events where fireworks contribute to visibility reduction (Singh, Bloss, & Pope, 2015), illicit use of the metalloid arsenic (Sterba, Steinhauser, & Grass, 2013), toxic metals (e.g., Camilleri & Vella, 2010;Kong et al, 2015), and enhanced particulate loads in German New Year (Drewnick et al, 2006), the U. S.A. on Independence Day (Seidel & Birnbaum, 2015), Slovenia (Mlakar, Božnar, Grašič, & Popović, 2012), Spain (Moreno et al, 2010), or in India during the Diwali festival (Bhatnagar & Dadhich, 2015;Perrino et al, 2011;Ravindra et al, 2003) or the numerous festivals that occur throughout the summer in Malta (Camilleri & Vella, 2010). Air pollution in Iran has attracted all attention again since recent years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of fireworks ancient celebrations on atmospheric concentration of particulate matter in Iran

Oroji

Sadighzadeh

Solgi

2019

Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes

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The Chahar-Shanbe Suri culture in Iran is a significant and direct factor leading to air pollution in Iran. This study investigates why and how "Chahar-Shanbe Suri" culture leads to increased air pollution in Iran. Following the fireworks of Chahar-Shanbe Suri in Tehran, Tehran's air quality index increased by a high slope, and the clean condition with the 49 index at 20 pm was unhealthy for all segments of society with a 177 index at 23 o'clock. Of course, according to the data measured in Tehran's air quality assessment stations, the air quality index in the areas of the city has risen above or near 200, which indicates a very unhealthy condition. The results of the SEM-EDS indicated that the PM of fireworks in the area make up the largest proportion of atmospheric particles. The chemical composition of particle was the origin of organic matter and the soot combinations from the combustion of sulfur compounds. The people, governments, and industry should work together to navigate positive initiatives. Public education and media navigation are necessary for dealing with the cultural aspects of environmental pollution and also, the management of celebrating can reduce the impact of fireworks on the air quality.

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Remember, remember the 5th of November; gunpowder, particles and smog

Cited by 16 publications

References 20 publications

Observing UK Bonfire Night pollution from space: analysis of atmospheric aerosol

Observing UK Bonfire Night pollution from space: analysis of atmospheric aerosol

60 years of UK visibility measurements: impact of meteorology and atmospheric pollutants on visibility

Effects of fireworks ancient celebrations on atmospheric concentration of particulate matter in Iran

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