Washington DC briefly became the world’s most polluted major city following a massive Independence Day fireworks display organised as part of the Trump administration’s Freedom 250 celebrations, air quality data from IQAir has shown.
The Swiss air quality monitoring company reported that the US capital ranked as the world’s most polluted major city between approximately 3am and 5am on Sunday after smoke from the fireworks caused a sharp rise in fine particulate pollution. By later in the day, heavy rain had dispersed the smoke and Washington had dropped significantly in the global rankings.
The display, organised by Pyrotecnico on behalf of the White House’s Freedom 250 initiative, aimed to break a Guinness World Record by launching 850,000 fireworks in just 40 minutes. The current record, set in the Philippines on New Year’s Day in 2016, stands at around 811,000 fireworks. Guinness World Records said it had received an application but had not yet verified whether the attempt was successful.
City air quality monitors recorded a dramatic increase in PM2.5 pollution during the display, with one monitoring station registering concentrations exceeding 200 micrograms per cubic metre. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s 24-hour exposure standard is 35 micrograms per cubic metre.
The deteriorating air quality prompted “Code Purple” alerts across Washington and neighbouring parts of Virginia and Maryland, indicating pollution levels considered unhealthy for the entire population rather than only vulnerable groups.
Scientists said the pollution episode could have been significantly worse had rainfall not cleared the smoke by midday on Sunday.
Responding to criticism, Environmental Protection Agency press secretary Brigit Hirsch defended the celebrations, saying: “Fireworks are awesome and we hope everyone enjoyed the incredible shows in and around our nation’s capital to celebrate 250 years of America.”
