Stubble burning in Punjab not responsible for rising pollution in Delhi, says study conducted by Punjab Agriculture University
Nov 21, 2021
Ludhiana (Punjab) [India], November 21 : The Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) said that according to their study, stubble burning is not the reason for the rise in pollution levels in Delhi.
Dr Prabhjot Kaur Sidhu, the Principal Scientist at PAU, said, "We have analysed data from the last four years, from October 1 to 16. During this period, due to the withdrawal of monsoon, the temperature starts falling and the wind speed is at 2km/hour or below. For any pollutants to move from one region to another, the wind speed needs to be at 5 km/hour."
She further said, "According to the data, only four times - in 2019 and 2020-- when the wind speed was at 5km/hour or above. During this time, the wind was towards the southern direction and not towards Delhi. So, nobody can claim that the rise in pollution level is due to stubble burning."
The principal scientist, who is the Head of the Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology at the PAU, said that the pollutants need high wind speed to move and every state is responsible for its own pollution. Delhi's AQI is anyway higher as compared to Punjab.