Skip to main content
Mayor of London logo London Assembly logo
Home

EIR - Firework emission breakdown [Jan 2024]

Key information

Request reference number: MGLA020124-3228

Date of response:

Summary of request

Your request

Please can you provide the following details in relation to the 2023/4 New Year's Eve Fireworks display.

  1. Amount of Co2 released
  2. Amount of Nox and other particles released
  3. The equivalent emissions in car journeys
Our response

The London NYE 2023 display is held at an open venue, and the smoke and combustion by-products disperse rapidly in the majority of meteorological conditions. Large firework displays are a rare occurrence, their impact is extremely short lived, localised and minimal.

Environment and sustainability are embedded in the procurement and contracting process for London’s New Year’s Eve event, with an environmental plan to manage key environmental impacts which the event management company consider throughout the planning and delivery process. These practices have meant that this year’s emissions from the display were reduced by 26% since 2016.

Our contractors have provided us with the following calculations:

The table below shows the by-products of the fireworks used in the display.

Environmental calculations - The total NEC of the displays is approximately 1150kg. We have calculated the following combustion by-products and equivalences from the display itself:-
Chemical by-products from the display
Carbon Dioxide 241.75 kg  
Carbon Monoxide 70.60 kg  
Sulphur Dioxide 3.80 kg  
Nitrogen Oxides 17.43 kg  
Nitrogen 59.80 kg  
Barium Carbonate 73.60 kg Medium solubility
Barium Sulphate 16.10 kg Medium solubility
Potassium Sulphide 163.30 kg Soluble
Potassium Carbonate 142.60 kg Soluble
Potassium Sulphate 131.10 kg Soluble
Potassium Chloride 25.30 kg Soluble
Barium Oxide 6.90 kg Low solubility
Aluminium Oxide 209.30 kg Low solubility
Potassium Oxide 9.20 kg Medium solubility
Carbon (as soot) 0.58 kg Low solubility
Metal Salts 131.10 kg Low solubility
Total 1302.44 kg
Carbon output (as CO2/CO) 312.34 kg  
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 17.43 kg  
Sulphur dioxide (SO2) 3.80 kg  
Total solids 968.88 kg  
Total solids (insolubles) 347.88 kg Only insoluble by-products are considered to pose health concerns for inhalation
PM10 (insolubles) 34.79 kg Only insoluble by-products are considered to pose health concerns for inhalation
PM2.5 (insolubles) 17.39 kg Only insoluble by-products are considered to pose health concerns for inhalation

 

Need a document on this page in an accessible format?

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of a PDF or other document on this page in a more accessible format, please get in touch via our online form and tell us which format you need.

It will also help us if you tell us which assistive technology you use. We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.