It is high time to stop crop residue burning (CRB) which is practised in the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab during the post-harvest season, according to senior NASA scientist Sudipta Sarkar who, along with two other associates in the US and India, recently concluded a study on how CRB increases pollution levels in the rest of the country.

The study, which was conducted before, during and after the CRB season, has revealed that the pollution caused by this practice has begun to show far-reaching impact, spreading black carbon via prevailing wind to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal. The Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres published the study by Sarkar, Ramesh P Singh of Chapman University, California, and Akshansha Chauhan, a PhD student from Sharda University, Greater Noida, on June 19. Crop residue burning spews black carbon and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The practice was started in Punjab after the introduction of mechanised harvesting in 2010. With this style of harvesting becoming increasingly popular in other states, the practice of CRB is also on the rise. Sudipta Sarkar, senior scientist, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Centre, told TOI, “The situation is urgent because our observation shows things could go out of our hands if not brought under control immediately. CRB is practised by those farmers who implement mechanised harvesting which leaves a large part of the crop’s stalk on the field. For lack of an alternative, the farmers burn the residue. If the farmers can sell this residue or are taught to convert it into manure, this menace would stop. While we are told that action has been taken to curb CRB, it is too early to suggest if it has had any impact and we will observe the situation for a few more years to state if it has improved.”

The study used “active fire” data during the post-monsoon season. The data was obtained with the help of NASA’s MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite. Sarkar said, “Some amount of CRB takes place in central and southern states, as well, but it happens mostly in the earlier months. The reason CRB in northwest India has such an adverse impact is because the harvest season is after monsoon when the air is still humid and traps all pollutants. We saw a 40-60% jump in black carbon concentration over parts of central and southern India that really got me hooked. This is happening in November when you don’t see major fire events in these parts of India. .”

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/