Reuters — Indian scientists, last week, warned that fireworks can seriously pollute the atmosphere.

Arun Attri and researchers at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi found that fireworks lit during India’s Diwali celebrations last year released a burst of ozone, a greenhouse gas that is toxic to plants.

Although ozone is usually formed in the presence of sunlight and nitrogen oxide, Attri recorded high levels of the gas during Diwali, a nighttime festival of lights which is regarded by Hindus as the start of the new year.

“We discovered a surprising source of ozone, which is generated in spontaneous bursts, even in the absence of sunlight and nitrogen oxides — namely, the exuberant mass of colour-emitting sparklers that are lit during the Diwali festivities,” Attri said in a report in the science journal Nature.

He and his colleagues believe the ozone is formed by ultraviolet light released by chemicals in the sparklers.

“The underlying process of ozone formulation resembles that induced by ultraviolet radiation in the stratosphere,” Attri added.

Ozone is a secondary pollutant and heat-trapping greenhouse gas that is blamed for contributing to global warming. Scientists believe emissions of certain pollutants threaten to disrupt global climate and ecosystems by causing the earth’s atmosphere to trap more of the sun’s energy.

The Kyoto Protocol, an international pact to combat global warming that has been rejected by the Bush administration, aims to cut emissions of greenhouse gases.