Share of paddy stubble in Delhi air jumps from 1% to 6% in 24 hours

The surge in the share of smoke from stubble burning over Delhi's air could be attributed to sudden increase in fire events in Punjab, Haryana and western UP

Paddy stubble burning is once again polluting the capital’s air, with its share jumping from 1 per cent to 6 per cent in span of 24 hours, according to latest data. Though still lower than other pollution sources, it has nevertheless triggered a war of words between Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Data from System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences showed that the share of stubble burning in PM2.5 of Delhi-NCR was 1 per cent on October 14, and rose to 6 per cent