The worst smog for decades in many parts of China has prompted calls to curb fireworks and firecrackers during Spring Festival, which begins on Feb 10.

A traffic policeman on duty at a crossing at Dongdan in Beijing on Wednesday. Traffi c police in China's smog-covered cities are waiting for offi cials to cut the red tape that bars them from wearing protective facemasks while on duty. [China Daily]

"The pervasive haze in Beijing has forced me to stay indoors almost all day, and I almost dare not breathe outside without a mask," said Wang Ying, a Beijing resident. "It will be unbearable if people keep setting off fireworks."

By Tuesday evening, netizens had posted about 8 million messages on Sina Weibo, a popular micro-blogging platform, discussing whether people should set off fireworks.

Smoggy weather has dominated central and eastern China since the beginning of the year, with many areas witnessing more than 20 hazy days in January, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Hazy weather covered China for 3.9 days on average between Jan 1 and 28, which was 1.2 days longer than normal and the longest since 1961, according to the National Climate Center.

Beijing was almost completely shrouded by thick haze in January, with only five days without haze as of Tuesday, according to Beijing Meteorological Bureau. The month witnessed the most hazy days since 1954.

The coming Spring Festival will be a peak season for firework celebrations.

The concentration of PM2.5, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, which can penetrate the lungs and is more harmful than larger particles, surged to 1,593 micrograms per cubic meter at a monitoring station in Beijing on Spring Festival Eve last year, as residents set off fireworks and firecrackers, according to Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

Setting off fireworks contributed greatly to air pollution in Beijing for half a month after Spring Festival in 2011, according to Du Shaozhong, former deputy director of Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

"Use of fireworks should be reduced during the holidays," Du said on Sina Weibo.

The office in charge of the firework industry in Beijing said on Tuesday that residents in Beijing can set off fireworks during the Spring Festival holiday according to the regulations, but the office hopes residents can refrain from doing so, the Beijing News reported.

Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, an environmental NGO, called for balanced decisions, as setting off fireworks can cause pollution during festivals, but it has long been a tradition in China.