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Delhi Chokes as Farm Fires Ignite Pollution Crisis
2 Nov
Summary
- Farm fires in Punjab and Haryana drove Delhi's pollution rise.
- Farmers increasingly light fires after satellite observation times.
- Delhi's air quality index hit the 'very poor' range on Monday.
Smoke from agricultural fires in Punjab and Haryana was the main driver of a sharp increase in Delhi's air pollution on Monday, pushing the air quality index into the 'very poor' range.
Most fires were initiated in the evening, after the crucial NASA satellite had passed over the region. This new timing pattern for stubble burning makes it harder to track the pollution source. Delhi's air quality index surged from 117 on Saturday to 261 on Sunday, crossing the 300 threshold for 'very poor' air by Monday morning.
While weather conditions, including low wind and a still night, contributed, they were similar to previous days with cleaner air. The critical difference was the influx of smoke from outside the city. PM2.5 levels on the night of November 1 averaged 194 micrograms per cubic meter, more than three times the safe daily limit of 60.
Analysis indicates that farmers are now lighting fires after 3 PM, a significant change from previous years. This timing circumvents the daily satellite counts, which are standard measures of burning activity. Even though NASA's satellite counts showed an increase, they did not correlate with Delhi's air quality on earlier dates when transport-level winds blew from a different direction.
