Paddy harvesting is almost over in Pakistan's Punjab and entire North India. In such a situation, incidents of stubble burning are also at their peak. Delhi has turned into a gas chamber due to this stubble smoke. The level of pollution in Delhi's air has reached a very dangerous level. On Tuesday, the level of pollution in the air was recorded up to seven times. At the same time, according to the report of the Decision Support System for Air Quality Management System of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the share of stubble smoke in Delhi's air reached about 23 percent on Monday. The smoke from burning stubble in Pakistan, Punjab and Haryana reached Delhi NCR with the northwest winds and has turned it into a gas chamber. According to meteorologists, due to very low wind speed, the air of Delhi and NCR will remain poisonous for the next two to three days.

In the images received from the satellite, the parts of Pakistan bordering Punjab, Punjab, Haryana and some other parts of North India are looking red due to stubble fire. On Tuesday, the level of PM 10 in Delhi's Anand Vihar was close to 730 micrograms per cubic meter. This is more than 7 times compared to the set standard. The level of PM 2.5 was close to 324. According to the standards, the level of PM 10 in the air should not be more than 100 and PM 2.5 should not be more than 60 micrograms per cubic meter.

Pakistan has also contributed a lot in worsening the air quality of the capital. Looking at the satellite images, it is clear that stubble is being burnt on a large scale in the Pakistani part of Punjab as compared to Haryana and Punjab. Sukhdev Singh, the nodal officer working to curb stubble burning in Amritsar, Punjab, says that compared to last year, this time less than half the cases of stubble burning have been registered in Amritsar. Last year, while about 1353 cases of stubble burning were reported by this time, this year about 600 cases have been registered so far. On the other hand, the situation is very bad in Lahore across the border. The AQI there has reached 1100. Pollution has also increased a lot in Punjab due to the smoke coming from there.

Along with Delhi, the air in NCR has also become stifling. Gautam Buddha Nagar's Deputy Director Agriculture Rajeev Kumar Singh says that only 5 cases of stubble burning have been registered in Gautam Buddha Nagar so far. Cases of burning agricultural waste have also been seen at many places. A fine of Rs 22500 has also been collected so far. The reason for pollution in NCR is the smoke coming from behind. There is not so much pollution at the local level here. Local teams have been formed by the administration which are investigating every fire incident as per the data received from ISRO.

Vivek Chattopadhyay, Principal Program Manager, Air Pollution Control, Center for Science and Environment, says that we always talk about stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab. But it is also true that in the Punjab part of Pakistan, cases of stubble burning on a large scale have been reported for the last few years. In the pictures received from the satellite, cases of stubble burning on a large scale can be seen there. This smoke reaches Delhi-NCR with the northwest winds. At present, the speed of the winds is very low and mild cold has started. In such a situation, pollution is lingering in the air for a long time. The government should raise this issue on international forums under the Male Declaration. Under the Male Declaration, agreements were made to curb transboundary pollution in South Asia. This agreement includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Republic of Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

With the issue of stubble burning in Pakistan being raised at international forums, the government and responsible institutions will have to take strict measures to stop incidents of stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and other areas of North India.

Shyam Krishna Gupta, industry representative and member of the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjacent Areas, says that the incidents of stubble burning have reduced as compared to earlier. But they have not been completely curbed. It is clear that the state governments are not able to stop these incidents somewhere. To stop incidents of stubble burning, we will have to find local solutions. We will have to prepare such harvesters which can cut the stubble along with the grain. Some such arrangement will have to be made that farmers can get the price of the stubble. Or the government can cut the stubble at its own expense and give it to some industry. Along with curbing incidents of stubble burning, we will also have to think about controlling local pollution. Controlling road dust and vehicle smoke can provide relief from the problem of pollution to a great extent. Burning of garbage will have to be stopped. We will have to plant as many trees as possible. Trees not only give us oxygen but they also work as filters. They stop the pollutant particles present in the air, due to which the air remains clean.

One of the major reasons for the increasing air pollution in Delhi and surrounding areas is the low wind speed. Mahesh Palawat, Vice President Meteorology and Climate Change, Skymet Weather, says that the wind speed reduces significantly in October and November. Due to this, pollution remains trapped in the air for a long time. At this time, the wind speed is 4 to 5 kilometers per hour. In such a situation, polluted particles and smoke remain trapped in the air of Delhi NCR for a long time. The wind speed is likely to increase after November 6. Only when the wind speed is 10 to 15 kilometers, there will be relief from this suffocating pollution.