Farm fires going uncounted? ISRO study points to shift in stubble-burning time

Farm fires in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana are said to be one of the major reasons for rising air pollution in national capital Delhi and its adjoining areas, for which the governments have shown great concern and have been imposing various restrictions. However, the farmers in order to evade detection by polar satellites.

According to a study by the Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre (SAC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) a gradual shift has been observed in peak farm-fire activity in Punjab and Haryana from the early afternoon to early evening over the five years beginning 2020 to avoid being mapped by satellites.

This is why the ISRO study suggests that the falling numbers of farm fires likely reflect an “underestimation of active fire events during October-November in Punjab and Haryana”, as suggested by official data.

“We observe a gradual temporal shift between 2021 and 2024, with peak fire activity occurring around 17:00 IST in 2024… At the same time, the window of fire activity narrowed substantially, suggesting an informed adjustment by farmers to avoid detection by polar-orbiting sensors,” the study, published in Current Science on 24 November, said.