Stubble fires contribute most to push air in 'very poor' zone

Farm fires have once again emerged as the single biggest source of pollution to Delhi's PM2.5 concentration this season, with an estimated contribution of around 16.4% on Sunday, data from the Decision Support System (DSS) under the ministry of earth sciences has shown, worsening air pollution in the Capital with an air quality index (AQI) reading of "very poor" at 313. The last time the AQI read "very poor" this year was on May 17 (336).

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

The contribution of farm fires is set to rise to an alarming 30.5% on Monday and 32.8% on Tuesday. Stubble burning was followed by transport emissions from the city as the second source at AIR 15.2%. Stubble burning begins to influence Delhi's air every winter from October 15 till November 15, peaking in the last week of October and the first week of November.

On Saturday, a total of 265 farm fires were reported in Punjab and Haryana the most in a single day so far this season-according to satellite data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) accessed by HT. On Friday, there were 206 such fires, the data showed. In the week preceding that, there were an average of 90 such blazes every day.

To be sure, farm fires this season have not yet seen the sort of spike they generally do this time of the year. In October, there have been 2,436 reported farm fires this year in the two states, according to Nasa's satellite data. This is 75% fewer than the 2012-2022 average of 9,775 such blazes reported in the same time period.