Farm fires reach five-year high in Rajasthan, Delhi; record low in Punjab

Farm fire incidents in Rajasthan and Delhi have reached their highest levels since 2020, with Rajasthan reporting 2,060 cases and Delhi witnessing 12, according to data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI). This contrasts sharply with Punjab and Haryana, where stubble-burning incidents have dropped to a five-year low.

 

Between September 15 and November 17, 2024, IARI detected a total of 25,108 farm fire events across six states. Punjab reported 8,404 incidents, Haryana 1,082, Uttar Pradesh 2,807, Delhi 12, Rajasthan 2,060, and Madhya Pradesh 10,743. Notably, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh recorded their second-highest number of farm fires during this period.

 

In Delhi, all reported cases were concentrated in the North and North West districts. Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘severe’ category on Monday, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 494. On Sunday, the worsening pollution prompted authorities to enforce Stage-IV actions under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap). 

 

Stage-IV of Grap, which applies when the AQI exceeds 450, was imposed by the Commission for Air Quality Management to combat the crisis.

 

Stubble burning is estimated to account for up to 40 per cent of Delhi’s pollution, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research. The burning of residual crops after the rice harvest remains a persistent challenge despite efforts to curb the practice.

 

Kaushik Basu, professor of economics at Cornell University and former chief economist of World Bank, stressed on social media that tackling pollution should be a top priority for the government. “Left unchecked, this kind of pollution can bring India’s growth story to an end,” he warned.