Jalisco authorities made a concerted effort this year to discourage the sale and use of fireworks over the New Year period, with the aim of improving air quality and preventing accidents.
Jalisco Government Secretary General Enrique Ibarra Pedroza announced at a press conference that 685 kilograms of “explosive material” had been collected by municipal, state and federal personnel in the lead up to the end of year festivities.
These labors, however, failed to prevent a smoggy start to 2023 in metro-area Guadalajara, where a murky haze of contaminated air hung over the metropolis as dawn broke on January 1.
Many people still ignored pleas to refrain from lighting bonfires on New Year’s Eve (a traditional activity) and letting off fireworks, while a market stall where fireworks were being sold clandestinely exploded in the Jalisco town of Ojuelos, leaving 14 people with injuries, and damage to more than 20 stalls.