Over 160 fire counts have been reported daily from the six agricultural states of Northwest India in October so far as paddy harvesting gets into full swing. Despite an ambitious action plan in place, Punjab and Haryana continue to account for over 70 per cent of the cases which eventually contribute to the worsening air quality in the region.
Large swathes of freshly harvested land are burnt every year to get rid of the paddy stalks that remain on the field once the grain is harvested. The practice, though banned by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), continues unabated, deteriorating the air quality and triggering the onset of winter smog in Delhi-NCR.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi-NCR dropped to 257 (poor) on Saturday, marking the beginning of a long period of high pollution levels. It improved briefly on Sunday.
The latest forecast indicates the AQI is likely to likely to remain ‘moderate’ till Tuesday and then drop to ‘poor’ during the next few days.
82% INCREASE IN FIRE COUNTS FROM LAST YEAR
The remote sensing satellites have detected as many as 2,791 fire incidents in the six agricultural states since paddy harvesting started on September 15. This is at least 82 per cent higher than last year for the same period from September 15 to October 15, when just 1,528 incidents were reported.
A stark increase has been seen in BJP-ruled Haryana where the fire counts increased drastically from 168 to 542 from September 15 to October 15 this year. Ambala and Fatehabad districts account for the majority of these cases. In fact, of the total 331 incidents reported on Sunday – the highest so far — at least 127 were recorded in Haryana alone.
Punjab with 31 lakh hectares of land under paddy cultivation continues to be the biggest contributor to crop residue fires. Despite the AAP government promise of bringing down stubble burning to almost 50 per cent less than last year, the state has not been able to achieve any success so far. The border district of Amritsar accounts for 50 per cent of the total cases this year, followed by Tarn Taran and Patiala.
According to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), Punjab has so far recorded 1,388 counts this season, followed by Haryana (542), Madhya Pradesh (324), Uttar Pradesh (312), Rajasthan (223) and Delhi (2). Unlike last year when heavy rains in late September-early October had left vast stretches of fields waterlogged for days, this year harvesting has entered full swing starting October 1 soon after the monsoon withdrew.
AIR QUALITY DROPS, IMD PREDICTS BRIEF RAIN SPELL
However, the ongoing spell of rains over the region may slow down the harvesting operations over the next few days. Two back-to-back western disturbances (WDs) have impacted the region, and are supported by additional moisture feeding from the Arabian Sea. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), there may be scattered rain showers and cloudy skies over the north-western plains till Tuesday.
According to meteorologists, the winds are now predominantly blowing from the Northwest directions with moderate speeds during the day, and are usually calm during the night. The Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 257 in Delhi on Saturday and is expected to remain in the poor category over the next few days, briefly improving on Monday due to rains in the northern states.
Though stubble burning aggravates the air quality during winter, Delhi’s pollution woes are mainly caused by emissions from the transport and industrial sector. According to an Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, survey, 40 per cent of pollution is caused by the transport sector alone. Large point sources like thermal power stations are some of the other highly emitted zones.
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