Beyond stubble burning: What else is causing Delhi's air pollution?

The share of stubble burning in Delhi's pollution has averaged 18% the past one month. At its peak, stubble burning accounted for nearly half of Delhi's air pollution.

While stubble burning is undoubtedly a contributor to the pollution in the national capital, a Business Standard analysis shows that most of Delhi’s pollution is from other factors. An analysis of data available on the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) platform shows that over the last 30 days, the average share of stubble burning in Delhi’s PM2.5 concentration was just 18 per cent.

At its peak, however, stubble burning contributed to nearly half (48 per cent) of Delhi’s air pollution.

A Centre for Science and Environment study released last week found that nearly half