Impact of crop residue burning in Haryana on the air quality of Delhi, India

Abstract

Crop residue burning (CRB) over northern India is a major air quality and human health issue. The present study assesses the impact of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , NO 2 and SO 2 , emitted during CRB activities in Haryana on the air quality of Delhi. The transition from pre-burning to burning period, in both rabi and kharif seasons, shows considerable increase in pollutant concentrations. PM 10 and PM 2.5 concentrations exceeded NAAQS limits by 2–3 times, while NO 2 and SO 2 stayed within the limits. MODIS fire observations used to estimate CRB fire counts (confidence ≥80%) shows that rabi (burning period) fires in Haryana are ~3 times higher and more intense than in kharif. Furthermore, backward trajectories shows air mass movement from Haryana, Punjab and Pakistan. Thus, pollutants emitted reach Delhi via air masses, deteriorating its air quality. Meteorological conditions influence pollutant concentrations during both seasons. Frequent dust storms in rabi, and Dusshera and Diwali firework celebrations in kharif season exacerbate air pollution. In rabi, PM 10 and PM 2.5 have a significant negative association with (relative humidity) RH and positive association with (air temperature) AT. High AT during pre-monsoon, accompanied by low RH, loosens up soil particles and they can easily disperse. Stronger winds in rabi season promote NO 2 and SO 2 dispersion. In kharif, lower AT, higher RH and slower winds exist. Both PM 10 and PM 2.5 have a negative association with AT and (wind speed) WS. With lower temperature and slower winds during winter, pollutants are trapped within the boundary layer and are unable to disperse. As expected, NO 2 has a significant negative association with AT in Haryana. However, in case of Delhi, the association is significant but positive, and could be due to the odd-even scheme imposed by the Delhi government. More research is needed to determine the health effects of Haryana's rabi CRB activities on Delhi.

Inhalation Exposure to Atmospheric Nanoparticles and Its Associated Impacts on Human Health: A Review

“…One of the most affected regions in the IGP is Delhi, which is often affected by CRB activities in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana during the kharif season (Sarkar et al, 2018b;Saxena et al, 2021a). Interestingly, Delhi's air quality has also been affected in the Rabi season due to CRB in Haryana, reported in a recent study by Saxena et al (2021b). At present, threefourths of the crop residue, amounting to ∼70-80 million tones, is disposed of by burning; therefore, it becomes a major source of NPs in the air and is well-known to aggravate respiratory disorders.…”

Investigation of Forest Fire Activity Changes Over the Central India Domain Using Satellite Observations During 2001–2020

“…In India, land clearance activities and frequent droughts have engendered enormous, unrestrained vegetation fires that have burned down many large areas of forest and agricultural land (Reddy et al., 2017 ; Vadrevu et al., 2006 ). Moreover, crop residue burning after harvest is an extensively practiced activity by farmers in India (Sarkar et al., 2018 ; Saxena et al., 2021 ) and can become a forest fire hazard. Forest fire incidences in turn cause further land degradation, worsen local to regional scale environmental health, release trapped carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) back into the atmosphere and significantly contribute to global warming (Flannigan et al., 2000 ; Henderson et al., 2011 ).…”

“…( 2017 ) estimated that 67.83, 4.47, 0.29, 0.01, and 0.07 Tg/yr of CO 2 , CO, CH 4 , NO x , and N 2 O, respectively were emitted from protected area forests (such as national parks, sanctuaries, conservation and community reserves) in the year 2014. Several studies also highlight that aerosol loading is the highest during the forest fire season (Mitchell et al., 2014 ; Saxena et al., 2021 ; Tosca et al., 2013 ). This is of particular importance in countries such as India, where aerosol load is already significantly high due to air pollution and dust (Dey et al., 2004 ; Sonwani & Kulshrestha, 2019 ; Sonwani & Saxena, 2021 ).…”

“…Satellite observation based thermal anomalies and active fire data sets are a convenient, easily accessible, and a reliable tool to provide long‐term continental to local scale fire information and to continuously monitor forest fires over various parts of the world (Giglio et al., 2009 , 2016 ; Jain, 2021 ; Kale et al., 2017 ; Littell et al., 2016 ; Yang et al., 2021 ). Even though attention towards the impact of forest fires in the tropics has greatly increased over the past few decades (Goldammer & Price, 1998 ; Saxena et al., 2021 ; Vadrevu et al., 2006 ), research on causes of forest fires in India along with their ecological, climatic and human health impacts is still limited. The fire season in the Indian subcontinent is spread over the dry months from February till June (FMAMJ), whereas remaining months of the year (JASONDJ) show little to no fire activity and are considered as the non‐fire season (FSI, 2020 ; Kale et al., 2017 ).…”

“…Forest fires also emit large quantities of particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) as well as trace gases for example, CO 2 , carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH 4 ), hydrocarbons, and oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) and frequent fires can alter atmospheric chemistry (Bibi et al, 2017;Crutzen & Andreae, 1990;Ribeiro-Kumara et al, 2020). Globally, biomass burning contributes to 20%-30% of CO 2 emissions and hydrocarbons, CO and NO x , 42% of BC, and 74% of primary organic carbon (Andreae, 1991;Bond et al, 2004;Saxena et al, 2021). Moreover, over India, Reddy et al (2017) estimated that 67.83, 4.47, 0.29, 0.01, and 0.07 Tg/yr of CO 2 , CO, CH 4 , NO x , and N 2 O, respectively were emitted from protected area forests (such as national parks, sanctuaries, conservation and community reserves) in the year 2014.…”