Berlin’s parliament is considering restricting the sale of firecrackers and banning their use in certain neighbourhoods outright. But why?
Around New Year’s Eve, it can get quite loud in Berlin. And when we say quite loud, we mean… terrifying. Districts like Wedding and Neukölln come to resemble, or rather sound like, war zones for a night. Now, the trade committee of Berlin’s parliament plans to restrict the sale of firecrackers. And that’s not all: certain streets and neighbourhoods are to be declared firecracker-free zones.
It may sounds like the act of a bunch of party poopers, but it’s actually pretty sensible. Firecrackers and fireworks are responsible for 17% of the yearly particulate pollution in the city. And really they only deflect from the main point of NYE: getting utterly and completely drunk.
Translated by Aida Baghernejad
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