Air Pollution: Stubble Burning in Rajasthan up by 160%, 20% in Punjab in last one year

Winter is the season when the national capital turns into a ‘gas chamber’ every year. As majority of air pollution comes from vehicles, stubble burning in neighbouring states also plays a critical role in choking Delhi.

Despite efforts by state governments to control it, farmers in neighbouring states burn their crop residue (stubble), and the smoke reaches the nation's capital and chokes it.

As per the latest data released by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology under the aegis of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, there has been a drastic increase in stubble-burning incidents in recent years.

Highlighting the issue, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that stubble-burning cases have witnessed an alarming rise of 160 percent in Rajasthan and 20 percent in Punjab this October as compared to last year. 

Singh, who is also a Minister of State for Earth Science, pointed out that Delhi is recording seven ‘very poor’ air quality days in October this year, which was zero in October 2021.

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"There was 160 per cent and 20 per cent rise in cases of stubble burning in Rajasthan and Punjab respectively in October 2022 compared to October 2021," he said referring to findings by the IMD and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.

The farm fire in Punjab has increased from 13,269 to 16,004 from October 2021 to October 2022 (20%). In Rajasthan, it rose from 124 to 318 from October 2021 to October 2022 (160%).

Singh said that the governments in Rajasthan and Punjab are not taking the necessary steps to check and curb stubble burning because of this the air in Delhi has become toxic.

He further stressed that Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP) have recorded a decline in stubble-burning incidents.

According to Jitendra Singh, the drastic surge in stubble burning in Punjab in the month of November is solely responsible for pushing the air quality into the severe category.

Notably, the contribution of stubble burning in pollution level of PM2.5 is estimated at 9.7 percent on November 1. 7.4 percent on November 2, 32 percent on November 3 and 17.8 percent on November 4.