NASA images show massive upsurge in crop burning

OVER THE past one week, images from NASA have revealed a massive upsurge in the number of fires in the Delhi-ncr area, showing the prevalence of crop residue burning in the region, especially in Haryana. This is despite the complete ban on stubble burning by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The images available through NASA’S Fire Mapper show a massive spike in the number of fires in the area between April 25 and May 3. The months of March, Aprilandmayaretraditionallyassociated with burning of wheat.

With air pollution in Delhi being one of the worst in the world, the call for a complete end to crop residueburning,identifiedasamajor health hazard, has intensified over the past year. Repeatedly, sourceapportionmentstudieshave reiteratedthatitisamajorregional source of pollution, exposing people to harmful levels of particulate matter. Last week, the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration had filedanfiragainstafarmerforstubble burning in his field in Greater Noida — the first such case.

On Wednesday, the NGT was shownphotographsofcropburning in Kaithal district in Haryana, prompting it to ask state governmentsforastatusreport.thenext hearing is scheduled for May 11.

Notingthatthiswastheseason for slow burning of wheat straws, petitionervikranttongadsaidthe green tribunal sought an explanation for why this practice continued despite the ban. “We submittedphotographstothengtwhich promptedthecourttoseekacompliance report from Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan on the action taken against erring farmers, fines levied on them andthesubsidythathastobegiven to farmers to tackle this situation,” he said.

Environmentalists, however, pointed out that although solutions are available to tackle crop burning, yet there are barriers for implementation.

NASA’S Fire Mapper shows a massive spike in the number of fires between April 25 and May 3