Fireworks and Lockdown

It's not often that conditions are just right to get air pollution measurements but November 5th 2020 was clear, with little wind. Around this time, air-pollution spikes were evident across England and in South Wales (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/12/guy-fawkes-night-caused-pollution-spike-across-england-and-south-wales). The spikes were probably largely due to garden-based activities, as organized displays were banned, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The pollution was not just present on the 5th, as London showed a burst of activity on the 4th (the day before lockdown) and NW England seemed to favour the 7th. Specialised laboratory measurements found elevated particles of aluminium, chloride, copper, potassium, strontium and sulfur, with a later surge of lead. The lead may have originated from bonfires, burning wood with old paint, rather than from fireworks. This kind of air pollution is bad news for anyone with breathing difficulties (often seen in Covid-19 infections). It does seem strange that people are still fixated on this activity and that people were not warned of its inappropriateness this year.