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Capital’s air quality dips with spike in stubble burning
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- Delhi’s air quality deteriorated further on Tuesday and remained one notch short of the ‘severe’ category (AQI 401), the worst for this season so far
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- Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB):
(1) The Air Quality Index on Tuesday was recorded at 400, ‘very poor’ category, at 4 p.m., which is the average of the past 24 hours
- System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR):
(1) Air quality has worsened mainly due to stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, since Monday, when it was at 368.
(2) Stubble fire counts increased from 1,654 to 2,577 in the past 24 hours after a noticeable dip on Sunday in the two States.
(3) Contribution of crop residue burning to the air pollution in Delhi was 25% on Tuesday and is expected to increase to 29% on Wednesday, which will be the season’s highest.
(4) Increase in the boundary layer wind speed is expected to improve the air quality by November 1.
- NASA images show a drastic spurt in crop residue burnings in neighbouring States, severely affecting Delhi’s air quality, as per an official.
- Smoke from stubble burning can lead to respiratory diseases, worsening of heart diseases, and bronchial asthma.
- The stubble middleman:
(1) Stubble collection: Farmers said that stubble burning was “very less” in Delhi as middlemen were collecting stubble from the fields at a rate between ₹2,000 and ₹3,500 from a ‘killa’ (measurement similar to an acre) of rice field.
(2) Stubble sold either to dairies or as packing materials in markets.
- Ban on burning
(1) NGT Banned Open burning of waste in Delhi with a fine range from ₹5,000 to ₹25,000.
(2) Farmers insist that the Delhi government should help in stubble disposing and provide Super Straw Management System [SuperSMS] machines, which cut and spread it while harvesting.
Sources
The Hindu