New Delhi: In recent times, Delhi and adjoining areas have remained under the grip of heavy pollution. Authorities have been taking a number of steps to reduce pollution. There have been various reasons for the heavy smog, including construction of buildings, smoke coming out of buildings and vehicles, and stubble burning.

While this year’s harvest season has come to an end, the official recording, monitoring, and assessment of stubble burning by the ISRO has ended. The year recorded a reduction of stubble burning in recent years under the watch of the administration.

Punjab, Haryana recorded low stubble burning this year

This year, states like Punjab and Haryana reported lower stubble burning compared to previous years. Punjab recorded 5,114 fire counts this year, which was a 53 percent reduction as compared to 2024. Haryana saw 662 incidents of farm fire incidents, also witnessing a massive reduction as compared to previous years.

As per authorities, the dip in stubble burning has been driven by steps taken under state and district-specific action plans, large-scale deployment of crop residue management machinery, strict enforcement measures, enforcement of flying squads, Prali Protection Force, among others.

Apart from these steps, a dedicated CAQM Cell has also been established in Chandigarh. This centre to focus on monitoring of paddy stubble management and related pollution activities.

Even as meteorological conditions also play an important role in the quality of the air in Delhi-NCR, the the dip in farm firing this year has reduced the potential episodic deterioration driven by stubble-burning contributions. With the significant dip in stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana, and NCR, the sustained improvement in air quality is expected in the region in the coming years.

However, all the steps taken to curb the AQI in Delhi, the same were not enough.  As at 11:30 AM on Tuesday, the current AQI was 611, which falls under hazardous mark. Importantly from November 2 5 to December 1, Delhi was mostly in 'Very Poor' category. It was only on November 30 that AQI was in 'Poor' category. On November 25 the AQI level was 353. Similarly, the AQI on November 26, November 27, November 28, November 29,November 30 and December 1 were 325, 377, 369, 305, 279 and 304 respectively.

Steps need to be taken to control air pollution in Delhi-NCR

While steps have been taken for a significant drop in stubble burning, authorities need to focus more on other areas to reduce pollution in Delhi NCR. The Delhi Government recently opted for cloud seeding, but the same could not materialize due to lack of moisture in the cloud. While steps have been duly taken to control the pollution in Delhi, more such steps are required to be taken.