Farm fires' share in Delhi's pollution 38 per cent, highest this season

The share of stubble burning in Delhis PM25 pollution jumped to 38 per cent on Thursday which experts said was the reason behind the thick layer of pungent smog over the national capitalThe increase in stubble burning has kicked off a political slugfest with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday saying that there had been a 19 per cent rise in farm fires over 2021 in Punjab and that the Aam Aadmi Party AAP had turned the national capital into a gas chamberDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in turn blamed the central government for rising incidents of stubble burning in Punjab and said it should resign if it cannot control air pollutionGufran Beig founder project director SAFAR a forecasting agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences said The share of stubble burning in Delhis pollution has increased to around 38 per cent which is quite significantThe air pollution situation is the worst in Noida which falls into the path of emissions being transported from stubble burning he saidAlso Read Delhis air quality in severe zoneGurugram and Lodhi Road areas which do not fall into this path are the least affected Beig said Delhis air quality slipped back into the severe zone Thursday morning amid raging farm fires and stagnant conditions at night The overall air quality index stood at 419 at 9 amThe overall air quality in Delhi will continue to remain in the severe category till Friday morning There will be slight improvement afterwards A major relief is likely on Saturday due to predicted improvement in meteorological conditions wind speed and direction Beig saidAn AQI air quality index of above 400 is considered severe and can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing illnessesAccording to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicagos EPIC Air Quality Life Index AQLI released in June the residents of Delhi stand to lose 10 years of life expectancy due to poor air qualityPunjab had on Wednesday reported 3634 farm fires the highest this season so far though their share in Delhi PM25 pollution stood at just 12 per cent due to unfavourable transportlevel wind speedThe number of farm fires stood at 1842 on Tuesday 2131 on Monday 1761 on Sunday 1898 on Saturday and 2067 on FridaySAFAR said the share of stubble burning in Delhis PM25 pollution was moderate at 12 per cent due to unfavourable transportlevel wind speedTransportlevel winds blow in the lowest two layers of the atmosphere the troposphere and stratosphere and carry smoke from farm fires to the national capital regionFarm fires accounted for 14 per cent of the PM25 pollution in the national capital on Tuesday 22 per cent on Monday 26 per cent on Sunday and 21 per cent on Saturday according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research SAFARPM25 are fine particles that are 25 microns or less in diameter and can travel deep into the respiratory tract reaching the lungs and entering the bloodstreamThe Commission for Air Quality Management had last week said the increased incidents of stubble burning in Punjab this year is a matter of serious concernAlong with unfavourable meteorological conditions paddy straw burning in adjoining states is a major reason behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and NovemberFarmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue before cultivating wheat and vegetablesAccording to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute IARI Punjab reported 71304 farm fires between September 15 and November 30 last year and 83002 farm fires in the corresponding period in 2020Last year the share of farm fires in Delhis PM 25 pollution peaked to 48 per cent on November 7According to an analysis by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee people in the national capital breathe the worst air between November 1 and November 15 the period when stubble burning peaksThe city records an average PM25 concentration of 285 micrograms per cubic metre from November 1 to November 15 PM 25 level from 61 to 120 is considered moderate to poor 121 to 250 is very poor 251 to 350 is severe and more than 350 is severe plusThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever