Fireworks made Washington world's most polluted city

AFP | Washington

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Washington was briefly the most polluted major city in the world, according to IQAir data, after a massive Independence Day fireworks show touted by the Trump administration as "awesome."

Pyrotecnico, the company hired by the White House's Freedom 250 organization, had set a goal of breaking a world record by launching 850,000 fireworks, though experts had warned that setting off so many in just 40 minutes could pose serious health risks.

Washington's pollution monitors began registering spikes around 8pm on Saturday, signaling local fireworks displays. But levels of fine particulate matter rose dramatically during the main show, leaving people watching downwind with an obscured view as smoke came billowing their way.

Fine particle pollution -- defined as smoke and particles 2.5 micrometers in diameter that can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing acute injury but also long-term disease -- peaked at over 200 micrograms per cubic meter at one monitoring site, city-collected data reviewed by AFP showed.

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 24-hour standard caps exposure at 35 micrograms per cubic meter.

"Code Purple" alerts, denoting air quality considered very unhealthy for everyone, not just at-risk groups, blanketed much of the city as well as the wider region, including neighboring Virginia and Maryland.

And according to data compiled by Swiss company IQAir, which relies on a variety of public and private sources, Washington was the world's most polluted major city between around 3am to 5am on Sunday July 5. It is currently in 41st position, with Jakarta, Kinshasa and Addis Ababa occupying the first three spots.