Some Punjab, Haryana farmers manipulating crop burning timing to evade satellite detection, say some experts, others differ: Report

The media report cites data that shows a significant reduction in stubble burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana, yet pollution remains high.

While instances of stubble burning have gone down this year, some experts are still questioning that trend, suggesting that farmers in India's north western region and Pakistan may be trying to avoid satellite overpass time to escape detection of fires, according to a report in The Times of India.

Despite laws against burning crop residues due to its contribution to air pollution, farmers are still finding ways to avoid detection by either burning at night or using small, scattered fires, the report noted citing experts. These methods complicate monitoring efforts and undermine initiatives aimed at reducing pollution, particularly in regions like Delhi where air quality is a major issue.

The report cited Hiren Jethva, a senior research scientist at the Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center in the US, observing unchanged aerosol levels despite fewer reported fires, suggesting altered burning practices. He wrote on X in October: "Are farmers in NW India and Pakistan avoiding satellite overpass time for stubble burning? A close eyeballing of GEO-KOMPSAT 2A geostationary satellite images shows localised puffs/clouds of smoke in the late afternoon. Needs ground checking."

Jethva shared another satellite image of late afternoon stubble burning, and asked who educated the farmers to change the pattern, according to the TOI report. In another post on Oct 28, Jethva wrote: "(The delusional) drastic downward trend in fire detection in NW India since 2022 but aerosol loading in the atmosphere has increased (or near stable). Raises suspicion if farm fires are ignited after satellite overpass time."

Citing satellite data, Jethva said that Aqua satellite of Nasa and Suomi-NPP satellite of Nasa-NOAA joint partnership pass over India and Pakistan around 1.30 pm to 2 pm IST. However, a Korean satellite is on geostationary orbit, looking at the same region every 10 minutes. Jethva told TOI that in his posts on X, he showed evidence, based on satellite data, that the fire activities in Punjab shifted to late afternoon hours.

The media report cites data that shows a significant reduction in stubble burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana, yet pollution remains high.

According to the report, Chandra Bhushan, CEO of the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iFOREST), questioned government data that said the number of farm fires decreased by 80–90 percent compared to 2020. However, if that was the case, then why Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), which measures the concentration of particulates in the atmosphere, has stayed remained unchanged over Punjab and Haryana over the past six to seven years. "If farm fires reduced so drastically, why hasn't the AOD decreased?", he added.

Experts suggest using geostationary satellites like India's INSAT for better detection. However, local authorities and scientists debate the accuracy of this theory, noting that night fires are also recorded, disputing claims of intentional evasion.

Gufran Beig, who is the founder of the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) and a chair professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), found the theory of farmers changing their burning timings difficult hard to accept. Rather than foreign satellites, Beig suggests using Indian geostationary satellites such as INSAT-3D/3DR, which gives continuous coverage data every 15–30 minutes. However, it has a disadvantage due to coarser resolution of 3-km, and may not detect small scattered fires, but still an algorithm can be developed for the satellites, he said.

The report also cites Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman professor Adarshpal Vig, who dismissed the theory of crop burning manipulation as a “figment of imagination of a few but not the reality”. According to Vig, Punjab Remote Sensing Centre gathers data of farm fires from various satellites that also includes fire incidents at night.