Delhi pollution: Nasa records 57,000 farm fires from November 1 to 13

New Delhi: Between November 1 and November 13 this year, Punjab and Haryana have recorded the most number of stubble fires since 2012, satellite data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows

New Delhi: Between November 1 and November 13 this year, Punjab and Haryana have recorded the most number of stubble fires since 2012, satellite data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows.

Between November 1 and November 13 this year, Punjab and Haryana have recorded the most number of stubble fires since 2012, satellite data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) shows. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

According to the data accessed by HT from SUOMI VIIRS C2, FIRMS-NASA resource, between November 1 and November 13, the cumulative fire count reported from the two states was 57,263, exceeding 52,719 incidents recorded in 2016.

Data also showed that during the entire stubble burning season, which begins from October 1, these two agrarian states have together recorded 75,225 fire incidents that is just 440 short of the incidents recorded in 2020. Maximum fire counts in the two states were reported in 2016, when 94,173 such incidents were seen. This was also the year when Delhi recorded one of its worst pollution spells.

“Our analysis shows that if you look at the total fire count recorded in Punjab this year, it is still slightly short of the 2020 numbers. But in Haryana, this year 7,963 fires have been reported, which is higher than the count it recorded in 2020, 2019 and 2018,” said Pawan Gupta, senior scientist, earth sciences (USRA), NASA Marshall Space Flight Centre.

According to the Punjab government data, the state recorded 3,742 farm fires on Saturday, taking the total number of incidents in the state this season to 62,863, the second highest over the past five years. Almost 80% of total cases this season have been recorded in November. Last year, Punjab recorded 76,590 incidents and 55,210 cases in 2019.

According to the union ministry of earth science’s System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (Safar), the contribution of farm fires to Delhi’s PM 2.5 (particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 micrometres) was above 30%. The forecast suggested that with transport wind speeds slowing down, the share of stubble smoke in Delhi is likely to reduce in the coming days.

“Winds at the transport level (925mb) are slowing down resulting in a lesser intrusion of farm fire-related pollutants into Delhi. However, local winds are becoming calm and temperatures are decreasing further, preventing efficient dispersion of pollutants. The fire count was 3157 and the contribution was 31%,” Safar said.

(Data collated by Abhishek Jha)