860,000 firecrackers on National Day of the United States... Guinness record challenge

The U.S. Donald Trump administration plans to set off 860,000 fireworks, more than 50 times the number of previous years, at the 250th National Day fireworks display on July 4.

According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 22nd (local time), Pyrotechnico, a company that organizes fireworks, announced that it will launch about 860,000 fireworks over 40 minutes to challenge the Guinness record this year.

WP introduced, saying, “This event will conclude with a spectacular fireworks display in the colors of the American flag, something the world has never heard of.”

Every year on National Foundation Day, the United States held a fireworks display using approximately 17,000 to 20,000 firecrackers at the National Mall in Washington, DC. It usually lasted about 20 minutes, and about $270,000 (approximately 410 million won) was spent on fireworks.

According to Guinness Records, the largest fireworks display currently held was the 2016 New Year's Eve event in Manila, Philippines, where 809,000 fireworks were used.

The equipment needed for this year's National Day fireworks display will be transported on about 50 trucks, and fireworks will be launched from eight barges installed on the waterscape facility in front of the Lincoln Memorial, West Potomac Park west of National Mall, and the Potomac River.

Pyrotechnico promoted it as “not only a patriotic spectacle that will be remembered for a generation, but it will also be a memorable fireworks moment.”

However, Pyrotechnico did not respond to inquiries about how much fireworks cost.

WP was concerned that such large-scale fireworks could have a serious impact on local air quality. This is because smoke from firecrackers cannot disperse properly and may harm people's respiratory health.

In fact, during the National Day celebration in 2019, a situation occurred where fireworks smoke was trapped in the lower atmosphere due to an atmospheric inversion phenomenon in which a warm air layer was formed above a cold surface.

WP reported that there were few places where the fireworks could be seen properly due to thick smoke at the time, and people who went to the National Mall to watch the fireworks complained of discomfort, saying their eyes were stinging and they were coughing.