Delhi breathed a little easier on Tuesday after a choking Monday post-Diwali, as air quality improved to 299, the “poor” category, with winds dispersing toxic pollutants and the pattern likely to prevail over the next few days. Satellite pictures, however, show a grim scene: a massive blanket of haze and smoke stretching across northern India and Pakistan.
The satellite image, captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and made available through NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), shows a thick greyish layer of haze spreading across the Indo-Gangetic plains, extending from Pakistan through northern India towards the eastern parts of the country.
Pollution eases, haze engulfs North India
According to the Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi, the particulate matter concentrations in the air — PM2.5 and PM10 - are also set to see a decline for the next two days. Of the 58 monitoring stations that recorded data on Tuesday, air quality was in the ‘very poor’ category at 28, ‘poor’ at 28 and moderate at two. No monitoring station recorded ‘severe’ air quality.
According to the Decision Support System (DSS) for Delhi, the transport sector was set to be the largest contributor to the city’s pollution on Tuesday, accounting for 18 per cent. Stubble burning was set to contribute 2 per cent, with forecasts suggesting the contribution could rise to 7.9 per cent on Wednesday.
Satellite images show the haze is particularly visible across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and adjoining regions, with the Himalayan mountain range standing out in the northern part of the image.
The contrast between the snow-covered mountains and the pollution-laden plains highlights the vast geographical spread of the atmospheric haze. The image also shows several red markers indicating detected fire hotspots, including areas across the northwestern agricultural belt. These detections are consistent with ongoing agricultural residue burning, which contributes to seasonal pollution across the region.
Every winter, northwestern India and neighbouring Pakistan experience a sharp deterioration in air quality as multiple pollution sources combine with unfavourable meteorological conditions. Stubble burning, vehicular emissions, industrial activity, construction dust and other sources add to the pollution burden.
The situation becomes particularly severe when colder temperatures, calm winds and a shallow atmospheric boundary layer prevent pollutants from dispersing. Instead, emissions accumulate close to the ground, creating persistent layers of smog across densely populated regions. Delhi-NCR has been among the worst affected areas, with air quality deteriorating sharply during the night and early morning hours. However, the satellite image indicates that the pollution problem extends far beyond the national capital, affecting a much larger stretch of the Indo-Gangetic plains.
Satellite data showed that 559 residue-burning incidents were detected across six states on Monday. Of these, 198 incidents were reported in Punjab, 17 in Haryana, 47 in Uttar Pradesh, 50 in Rajasthan, eight in Uttarakhand and 239 in Madhya Pradesh. A total of 8,665 farm-fire incidents have been detected across the six states between September 15 and November 9.
The Consortium provided the datam for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space (CREAMS) Laboratory of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in its bulletin.