Chinese Cities Ban Lunar New Year Fireworks as Smog Precaution
People set off fireworks in a street in Shanghai.
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Shanghai and several other Chinese cities have banned the popular custom of lighting fireworks on the Lunar New Year to cut down on smoke and help improve the air quality over the week-long holiday.
Police in Shanghai will mete out fines of as much as 500 yuan ($76) to people caught setting off firecrackers or pyrotechnics in the central metropolitan area, the government said. More than 300,000 people will volunteer to help enforce the fireworks ban, the authorities said on Friday.