-Down to Earth The system, which tracks crop burning using satellite data, can also forecast air pollution levels for next 72 hours The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has launched an advanced Air Quality Early Warning System, which can predict places neighbouring Delhi that are likely to burn crop residue on a given day. The system, developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, under MoES, uses data of stubble burning incidents...

-The Indian Express While we do not question the basic premise that air pollution has adverse health impact, we are sceptical about the figures quoted and the methodology adopted in estimating the cost. In the past three years, several studies have linked air pollution with health effects. For instance, the State of Global Air 2019, published by the Health Effects Institute (HEI), claimed exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution contributed...

-Down to Earth Nasa’s satellite image showed at least 100 such incidents in Punjab in the last 72 hours Nasa satellite images recorded scores of farm fires across Punjab and Haryana in the last seven days, indicating that the stubble burning season has started in the two states. Several red dots, indicating stubble burning activity, were seen in the images, especially over the districts of Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala in Punjab, and Karnal,...

-The Indian Express Around October every year, farmers in Punjab, Haryana and other North West Indian states set fire to paddy residue in order to clear their fields to sow fresh wheat crops. New Delhi: Stubble burning in Punjab can be controlled completely if farmers are compensated for management of paddy straws, the state’s agriculture secretary K S Pannu told The Indian Express Monday. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh would...

-Down to Earth Happy Seeder — a tractor-mounted device — will eliminate air pollution and reduce green house gas emissions from on-farm activities by more than 78 per cent relative to all options A new study has found that farmers in north India can not only help reduce air pollution but also improve the productivity of their soil and earn more profits if they stop burning their crop residue and instead adopted...