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There have been fewer instances of paddy stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana this kharif harvest season so far compared to the previous year, according to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
From September 15 to October 16, there have been 1,695 instances of crop residue burning in Punjab, Haryana and the eight NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh, said a communication issued by the CAQM Monday. This is lower than the 3,431 instances recorded during the same period last year.
In Punjab, there have been 1,444 instances of paddy residue burning from September 15 to October 16. This is lower than the count of 2,375 recorded till October 16 last year. In 2020, from October 1 to 16, there was a much higher count of 4,110 in Punjab. In 2019, from October 1 to 16, Punjab recorded 1,286 burning events, according to data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) which uses satellite data from NASA to monitor stubble burning.
Overall, across six states, there have been 1,828 stubble burning events till October 16 this year, IARI data shows. This includes two instances in Delhi.
Burning events have picked up pace over the past one week. On Monday, for instance, Punjab recorded the highest single-day residue burning count of the season so far – 403. This is nearly double the count of 206 recorded on Sunday.
Vinay Sehgal, Principal Scientist, IARI, said, “Compared to last year, the situation is still not clear. Today, there was a new high of 403 farm fires in Punjab and 86 in Haryana. It is a bit early, and the rains have also contributed because the harvesting has been a bit delayed due to two consecutive (rainfall) events. Now since the weather has cleared out, harvesting is picking up. The situation will be clear to us by the end of this month. Peak burning is from around October 26-27 to the first week of November.”
According to the CAQM, more than 2 lakh crop residue management machinery is available in Punjab, Haryana and NCR districts of UP. “Haryana, Punjab and UP assured that with effective implementation of the action plan, utilisation of the CRM machinery, effective public campaign and strict enforcement, they would ensure substantial reduction in crop burning incidents this year,” stated the communication from the CAQM. Review meetings have been held with officials of NCR states.
In Delhi, the air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category for the second consecutive day Monday with an AQI of 237. While stubble burning smoke began contributing to PM 2.5 levels in Delhi around two days ago, the contribution remains low, said Gufran Beig, founder project director, SAFAR. The contribution on Monday was around 3%, while it was around 1% to 2% on Sunday. In comparison, the contribution around this time last year was a much higher figure of 14%.
Beig explained that the share of fine particles or PM 2.5 in the air is gradually increasing, touching a level of 52% on Monday, which is the sign of the onset of winter and the influence of emissions. But the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s air remains low due to fewer burning events and winds not having sufficient speed, he said.
The air quality could deteriorate in the next three days and settle in the upper end of the ‘poor’ or lower end of the ‘very poor’ categories, Beig added.
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