摘要
Religious, occasional and annual fire work festivals worldwide are found to introduce high concentrations of pollutant gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere. These in turn alters the air quality of a region in the short and long time scales and affect human health adversely. The effect of fireworks on short-term variation in air quality of an urban location Dibrugarh, set amidst the rural environment of north-east India, was assessed from the ambient concentrations of 03, SO2, NOx, CO and BC （black carbon） during the Diwali festival during Nov. 13-14, 2012. The firework activity in general peaks during evening to midnight hours. Substantial increase in concentrations of O3, SO2, NOx, CO and BC was observed during the peak hours of firework activity （16：00 h to 22：00 h） in the Day 1 and Day 2 of the Diwali festival. However, the increase in concentrations from the background level was found to be highest on the post-Diwali day due to their accumulation in the atmosphere. The firework activity has not affected the regular diurnal pattern of the measured species during this episode.
