Stubble burning is a pan-Indian problem but is most acute in Punjab and Haryana, which together account for 46% of the crop fires in the country. In 2018, stubble burning picked up in November after a six-year low in October in these two States.
Stubble burning is the practice of intentionally setting fire to what remains after food grains have been harvested. It is usually done to clear the field quickly for the next season and to burn off weeds and other pests.
Fire belts
In 2018, the most number of crop fires were detected in Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. Of the top 10 districts where most number of crop fires were detected, eight were in Punjab, one in Jharkhand and one in Odisha.
Lows and highs
The table shows the number of crop fires detected in Punjab and Haryana over the last six years. The darker the shade, the higher the number of fires detected.
| Month | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. | 350 | 496 | 373 | 335 | 354 | 322 | 562 |
| Feb. | 602 | 472 | 507 | 518 | 878 | 820 | 588 |
| Mar. | 615 | 871 | 387 | 404 | 422 | 503 | 624 |
| Apr. | 20557 | 21565 | 23075 | 18711 | 14126 | 17039 | 20166 |
| May | 665 | 1097 | 599 | 751 | 5917 | 1896 | 1679 |
| June | 1030 | 230 | 962 | 419 | 411 | 458 | 612 |
| July | 128 | 43 | 86 | 28 | 28 | 91 | 70 |
| Aug. | 46 | 59 | 33 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 29 |
| Sep. | 468 | 577 | 1027 | 314 | 544 | 342 | 151 |
| Oct. | 31993 | 31932 | 29642 | 24763 | 41545 | 34557 | 21353 |
| Nov. | 46039 | 38506 | 50709 | 46278 | 58136 | 33271 | 44256 |
| Dec. | 640 | 818 | 522 | 690 | 890 | 950 | 881 |
Crop fires initially peak in April, when Rabi crops are harvested and Kharif crops are sown.
The second peak is in October-November, when Kharif crops are harvested and Rabi crops are sown. There was a dip in the number of fires in October 2018.
However, the number spiked in November 2018, bringing the two-month total to almost the same as the previous periods.
Data from LANCE FIRMS, NASA/GSFC/ESDIS and processed by Raj Bhagat Palanichamy