2023-12-16 06:00:00
Fireworks are made up of three main elements. The first is the fuel, also called black powder, which is made up of carbon and sulfur. This fuel is associated with an oxidant. In this case, it is potassium nitrate. If we add a heat source, such as a flame, to these two elements, we obtain an explosion. And to obtain a colorful fireworks display, you must add a third and final element: metals or metallic salts.
During the explosion, different substances are released into the air. When burning, black powder emits carbon dioxide (CO2). In what quantity? The sources differ. According to the Professional Union of Pyrotechnic Show Creators, quoted in Libération, the fireworks on July 14, 2021 in Paris required three tons of powder for a show lasting around thirty minutes. According to this same source, these three tonnes emitted nearly 1.5 tonnes of CO2. This is the equivalent of the emissions of a passenger making a return flight from Brussels to Doha (Qatar).
This figure therefore corresponds to a very large fireworks display. But what do you get when you combine all the fireworks with the New Year? In an article from German media DW published in 2017Günter Klein-Sommer, chemist and pyrotechnician, estimates that a German emits approximately “25 grams of CO2“during the end-of-year fireworks. Across the country, this represents around 2,000 tonnes of CO2.
Once the show is over, the thick cloud of smoke does not completely disappear. A rain of fine particles falls on the ground, in the water and on the plants. Some disrupt ecosystems, such as perchlorates, an endocrine disruptor. In Germany, it is estimated that 5,000 tonnes of fine particles are emitted on New Year’s Eve. Record pollution peaks are often recorded without the minutes following a fireworks display.
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