NEW YORK.- Fireworks on the night of July 4, one of the most anticipated festive moments of the year in New York, polluted the skies of the Big Apple as much as the fires in Canada had done weeks before.
The news portal Gothamist.com points out that a group of students from the University of New York (NYU, in English) collected 3,300 micrograms of polluting particles per cubic meter of air on Tuesday night, when 500 micrograms are already considered exceeded the level of “extremely dangerous”.
Several NYU volunteers went out to measure the air around midnight and concentrated on the areas where the fireworks were being fired, which are several in the city, although the best known for their volume (60,000 rockets), their duration (25 minutes) and its spectacularity are what launch the Macy’s department store on the East River, between Manhattan and Long Island City.
The smoke from the thousands of artifacts completely filled the skies over the East River, unable to see one bank from the other, and even when they gradually cleared, the air remained stale for hours over a wide area along the river in both directions.
But in addition, the rockets and smaller collections of pyrotechnics continued to go off throughout the city for hours.
At 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT) this Wednesday, the air quality index measured by this equipment was at level 434, when from 301 the level is considered risky and usually motivates calls to citizens to stay inside. from their homes by medical services.
An NYU professor quoted by the portal pointed out that a major factor in the harmfulness of fireworks is the use of colors, since a high concentration of metals is needed to achieve the green, red, and blue colors in the rocket lights. .
Some cities in the United States opted yesterday for light shows -using the possibilities offered by drones-, but in New York the drones were simply incorporated into the show as an introduction, the main course being the gigantic collection shot from five barges located in the middle from the river.
