Google search trends indicate that the cooling temperatures in Delhi herald not just the approach of the winter season, but also trigger concern over the looming spectre of rising pollution and smog (Figure 1), in turn setting offdebates on policy actions and interventions. A significant contributor to the deteriorating air quality in winters in Delhi is the practice of burning of paddy residues from the kharif crops in the adjoining states. On peak stubbleburning days, it can even account for more than 40% of Delhi’s air pollution!
There are many factors behind these paddy field fires. The cultivation of rice and grain in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh traces back to the Green Revolution, when cultivation of high yielding varieties of these grains was incentivized to alleviate the massive deficit in both grains and the foreign exchange reserves that the country faced in the 1960s. However, the consequent fall in groundwater reserves led the governments of Punjab and Haryana to push farmers to delay the planting of water-intensive paddy from the height of the dry season to mid-June in order to ameliorate the disastrous impact the water-intensive crop had on groundwater resources. The resultant shortened time between harvesting of the kharif crop and the planting of the rabi crop, and the rise in mechanization of harvest saw farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan opting for easy, quick, and unsustainable fires to clear stubble. Low-wind speeds in October – which prevent the smoke from being whisked away – further contribute to the accumulation of the air pollutants.
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