'Farmers delaying fires to evade detection, as burnt area shrinks'

{ NEW STUDY } EXPOSES MAJOR GAP IN TRACKING STUBBLE FIRES

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are increasingly shifting stubble burning to late afternoon and evening hours to evade satellite detection, even as the overall area burnt this year has declined significantly, a new analysis released on Monday has found.

The report, published by the environmental think-tank International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (IFOREST), warned that India's current monitoring systems are capturing only a fraction of actual fires due to their limited observation window.

According to the study, the total burnt area in both states has reduced by 25% to 35% over recent years, indicating real progress in cutting down crop-residue burning.

But the report also shows that the time of burning has shifted dramatically. In Punjab, over 90% of large farm fires in 2024 and 2025 occurred after 3pm, compared to just 3% in 2021. The trend appeared even earlier in Haryana, where most large fires have taken place after 3pm since 2019.