Delhi Pollution: NASA Image Depicts ‘River of Smoke’ Covering City, Partly Caused by Stubble Burning

Air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region has been an alarming problem over the years. The pollution levels drastically increase during winter, covering the city with dense smog. In a new finding by NASA, a cause of this problem has been identified. Photos tweeted by The Weather Channel India show that stubble burning activities in neighbouring states partly cause the pollution to spike in this region. Satellite images captured by NASA depict stubble plumes gushing from these states towards Delhi-NCR. The photo caption read, “Every winter, Delhi pollution spikes drastically, partly due to the stubble burning activities in neighbouring states. Now, NASA has captured satellite images depicting stubble plumes gushing towards Delhi.”

The Weather Channel India has explained the process of stubble burning. Farmers usually torch their crop residues to prepare the fields for the next season. The tweet read, “This annual activity leads to the exacerbation of recurring seasonal pollution.”

Every winter, #DelhiPollution spikes drastically, partly due to the stubble burning activities in neighbouring states.

Now, @NASA has captured satellite images depicting stubble plumes gushing towards #Delhi.

Read: https://t.co/SAYQW1XdCT

????: Lauren Dauphin/NASA Earth Obsv. pic.twitter.com/VL5UUnaZVO

— The Weather Channel India (@weatherindia) November 24, 2021

#StubbleBurning is the process whereby farmers get rid of crop residues by torching them up, so as to create space for a fresh batch of crops. This annual activity leads to the exacerbation of recurring seasonal pollution.

????: Piyal Bhattacharjee/TOI, BCCL, Delhi pic.twitter.com/qRx416Yesn

— The Weather Channel India (@weatherindia) November 24, 2021

The images captured by NASA depict a “river of smoke” emerging from crop residues torched in Punjab and Haryana. This stretches towards Delhi.

The images captured by @NASA underline the magnitude of the #StubbleBurning problem by depicting a massive ‘river of smoke’ originating from fires in Punjab, Haryana and even north Pakistan, stretching towards Delhi.

????: Lauren Dauphin/NASA Earth Obsv. pic.twitter.com/1zQ6VorjOW

— The Weather Channel India (@weatherindia) November 24, 2021

Often, the spike in air pollution is also attributed to fewer air currents during this season. However, this year’s lingering monsoon helped to control the increase in pollution levels at the start of November. But the pollution spiked thereafter. NASA has identified more than 74,000 fire hotspots in Punjab till November 16.

The NASA update also pointed out that this year’s lingering monsoon spell curbed the spike in pollution levels during the start of November.

But since Nov 11, the fire activities gained pace, with VIIRS recording >74,000 fire hotspots in Punjab till Nov 16.

????: Y Kumar/BCCL pic.twitter.com/MpsrNu8v3L

— The Weather Channel India (@weatherindia) November 24, 2021

Pawan Gupta, a USRA scientist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, talked about the pollution levels on November 11. He said, “A conservative estimate is that at least 22 million people were affected by smoke on this one day.”

“Looking at the size of the plume on Nov 11 and the population density in this area, I would say that a conservative estimate is that at least 22 million people were affected by smoke on this one day,” said Pawan Gupta, a USRA scientist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

— The Weather Channel India (@weatherindia) November 24, 2021

The stubble burning processes spike up during winter and hence add up to the pollution.

The arrival of the winter months coincides with the stubble burning activity carried out by farmers in the neighbouring states. This adds up to the pollution woes of the land-locked capital region bordered by the Himalayan foothills to the east.

— The Weather Channel India (@weatherindia) November 24, 2021

The tweet thread explained that the drop in temperature and lack of winds during the winter months cause the air pollutants to stay trapped in the atmosphere for longer periods. Ultimately, it leads to various health hazards.

The pollutants get trapped in the atmosphere longer than usual due drop in mercury levels, lack of winds, etc.

This combined impact makes Delhi’s air quality hazardous for even healthy people, while severely affecting people with breathing conditions.

????: S Kataria/BCCL pic.twitter.com/R1VrWcFLSK

— The Weather Channel India (@weatherindia) November 24, 2021

Delhi’s pollution has become a concerning issue this year too.