57,000 incidents of straw burning in 13 days in Punjab-Haryana: NASA

NASA conducted the survey on the basis of satellites

Pollution lockdown in Haryana now: Schools closed for three days Haryana breaks last three year record in burning straw

New Delhi: Record-breaking incidents of straw burning have been reported in Punjab and Haryana between November 1 and November 13, according to a satellite report released by the American space agency NASA. This is the highest number of straw burned by the two states since 2012 during the straw burning season.

In the last 13 days, 57,263 incidents of straw burning have been reported in both the states. According to data released by NASA, the straw burning season is calculated from October 1. A total of 52,719 incidents of straw burning were reported in both the states during the entire 2016 season. In the last 13 days of November alone, 57,263 incidents were reported.

So far during the current season, 75,225 such incidents have been reported, which is only 440 less than the total number of incidents in 2020. Pawan Gupta, a senior scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, says that according to satellite analysis, Punjab has burned less straw so far this year as compared to last year, while Haryana has burned more straw by the year 2020.

In 2016, a total of 94,173 incidents were reported in both the states, which was a record figure at the time, and in that year, Delhi also witnessed the worst and most dangerous air pollution. Experts are predicting that air pollution in and around Delhi is likely to become darker and more dangerous this year due to record-breaking incidents of straw burning.