Crop fires from Pakistan and Punjab (India) combined as two, great plumes of smoke that wafted across north India and led to an unprecedented spike in pollution across Delhi, says a report by a space scientist at the Universities Space Research Association, as part of a NASA-funded project.
The analysis of images shows that crop fires — from the burning of kharif crop residue — over Punjab had increased by 75 per cent over last year. Between October 25 and November 6, 2016, crop fires had gone from 4,480 (in 2015) to 7,864, according to the research report, exclusively shared with The Hindu , by Dr. Hiren Jethva, Research Scientist at USRA. “Smoke plume originated in Pakistan from fires there and eventually merged with plume produced by Punjab fires before it mobilised over New Delhi and eastern parts of Indo-Gangetic Plain,” Dr. Jethva told The Hindu in an email.
Government agricultural experts in Punjab said there was a shift in the sowing pattern in the State from last year. “Rise in area under the non-basmati varieties of rice has increased this year and it’s one of the reasons that the number of crop fires has increased,” Punjab State Farmers Commission adviser P.S. Rangi said.
Sowing pattern
“Farmers tend to harvest non-basmati varieties of paddy with machines, resulting in more paddy stubble because combine harvesters don’t cut the crop close enough to the ground, leaving behind stems standing in the field up to one feet… The area under non-basmati rice this year has touched 26 lakh hectares, which in 2015-16 was 23.5 lakh hectares.”
Basmati varieties are harvested manually by farmers, who cut the crop close to the ground, which makes it easy for them plough the residue into the soil through harrows. There is less paddy stubble and chances of stubble burning goes down.
Weather conditions
Weather experts said that a weather condition, called an anti-cyclone, was particularly strong this year and that aided to the pollution spike. “Anti-cyclones, where wind is virtually absent and no circulation happens, are common after monsoon,” said D.S. Pai, Chief Meteorologist, India Meteorological Department. “But this time it was spread over a large area and prevented pollutants from being flushed out.”
Dr. Jethva, however, clarified that his analysis of the smoke plumes from Pakistan was largely based on a visual inspection of images.
The air over Delhi has started clearing up substantially with several agencies predicting that there would be an improvement in air quality in the next two days. The Delhi government announced a slew of measures, from shutting down the Badarpur coal plant, to depress pollution levels.
Smoke plume originated in Pakistan from fires there and eventually merged with the
plumes produced by Punjab fires before
it mobilised over New Delhi and eastern parts of
Indo-Gangetic Plain
