The Indian government claims that farm fires in Punjab, which contribute significantly to air pollution, were reduced by 90% during the autumn season of harvest and crop-waste disposal – historically a factor in sending heavy clouds of air pollution drifting around northern India in late October and November.

But in this Earth Chakra podcast, Health Policy Watch senior correspondent Chetan Bhattacharji debunks that claim. Bhattacharji interviewed Dr Hiren Jethva, an scientist specializing in remote sensing of aerosols at Morgan State University and NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre. Jethva exposes how Punjab farmers are, in fact, evading satellite monitoring.

According to Jethva, the true number of stubble burning incidents in Punjab could be 10 to 11 times higher than the official government count of about 5,000 for the harvest and crop-burning season, which ended in late-November. In the podcast, he teases apart the data to explain the reasons why the numbers are so misleading. ⬇️

Significantly, the Indian government’s space agency, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has, in a recent paper, reached a similar finding to Jethva’s, effectively endorsing what he has been saying for the past two years.

Growing public anger over pollution levels

The government claims of progress have appeared all the more specious as Delhi’s skyline once again become buried in a smoky haze over the past week, with fine particulate pollution levels (PM2.5) 35-40 times above WHO safe limits. On Sunday, 14 December, Delhi’s Air Quality Index, which reflects a combined score of the most dangerous pollutants, hit a season’s high of 461.

The crisis came against a backdrop of social media outrage and building public pressure – including protests that spilt over Monday to a football stadium event hosting the legendary Argentinian player Lionel Messi. The debate over the data comes as the effects of the burning fires on pollution levels appear undeniable. 

On Monday, Messi found himself in the middle of an unprecedented protest against Delhi’s air pollution while on a four-city tour to India. As the city’s Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta walked towards the footballer in the middle of a stadium full of ticket-paying visitors, the slogan “AQI, AQI,” decrying her handling of the air pollution crisis reverberated throughout the crowd. Videos quickly went viral.  The event was held amidst a thick haze – a palpable sign of the toxic air quality. 

On Tuesday, Delhi’s Environment Minister, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, apologised to the people of Delhi. He also announced fresh curbs on vehicle emissions, including an order that fuel not be sold to the drivers of vehicles lacking a a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate. That, despite the fact that the PUC testing system is outdated and does not screen for key pollutants like particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). 

While in November, the drift of smoke neighbouring agricultural states like Punjab and Haryana, which are burning crop waste, is a major factor in Delhi’s pollution, by December, conditions change. This month, weather conditions, including lower temperatures and low winds, are among the culprits. This traps more pollution at ground level. Simultaneously, there is a big increase in fires for household heating. Vehicular emissions are estimated to contribute some 27-51% of ambient air pollution levels in winter-time. 

Schools in hybrid mode

Along with the fuel sales restrictions, schools have been shifted to a hybrid mode. However, a government clampdown on coal and wood-fired tandoors also triggered protests and digs at the government. 

In another unprecedented move, the Singapore High Commission (embassy) in Delhi tweeted a note asking its citizens to heed the health, work and travel advisory of Indian pollution control officials. The UK and Canada reportedly put out advisories as well.

Gupta, a member of the governing BJP part of Nahrenda Modi, has been under attack for a series of decisions and comments by her administration, which took over the reins of Delhi government in February for the first time in 27 years, following elections. Those decisions range from allowing firecrackers in the recent Diwali festival, a move that ushered in the worst post-Diwali air pollution in five years, to defending videos which showed water being sprayed on and around the government’s air quality monitors.  She also has been quoted recently saying ‘AQI is like temperature.’

While Sirsa was quick to blame Delhi’s previous AAP and Congress governments of the last two and a half decades for the air pollution crisis, those opposition parties have called for the Chief Minister’s resignation. 

On Tuesday, India’s Environment Minister, Bhupender Yadav, also held a meeting on Delhi’s air pollution crisis. However, the capital’s daily PM2.5 levels have remained over 120 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3)  for weeks on end, with some neighbourhoods recording far higher levels. In contrast, the WHO 24-hour air quality guideline for PM2.5 is 15 μg/m3 with a recommendation of no more than 3-4 excedences per year.