The record
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- The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) is working with ISRO and authorities in Punjab and Haryana to improve how stubble burning is measured ahead of the winter pollution season in the Delhi region.
- Current fire counts from satellites are considered unreliable because farmers have shifted burning to evenings to avoid detection by daytime satellite passes, meaning Punjab's claimed 90% reduction in farm fires since 2021 was likely exaggerated.
- A separate 'burnt area' measurement suggests the actual decline has been closer to 30%, but burnt area also does not fully capture pollution emitted.
- CAQM has asked ISRO to provide a basic ground-truthing protocol this year to produce better estimates than fire counts.
What to watch next
- Whether ISRO delivers a basic ground-truthing protocol to CAQM this year
- How Punjab and Haryana adopt the new measurement methods during the October-November burning season
- Whether satellite-based estimates and pollution-linked enforcement change farming practices
Who said what1
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Rajesh Varma
1 quote · 1 outlet
“While the fire counts reported from satellite passes may not be the most accurate picture of the extent of farm fires, we are in talks with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as well as Punjab to have better ‘ground truthing’ protocols”
In the article
…the Delhi national capital region, the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) said it was in discussion with authorities in Punjab and Haryana to improve measurement of stubble fires. “ While the fire counts reported from satellite passes may not be the most accurate picture of the extent of farm fires, we are in talks with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as well as Punjab to have better ‘ground truthing’ protocols ,” Rajesh Varma, Chairman, CAQM said at a press briefing on Thursday (September 3, 2026). Farm fires in Punjab are a major contributor to pollution during some weeks of October and November when monsoon withdrawal…
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Named India · Delhi · Haryana · Punjab · Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas · iForest · ISRO · Rajesh Varma
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