Overview
- CREA estimates farm fires averaged 7% of Delhi’s PM2.5 in November, down from 20% last year, with the peak falling to 22% from 38%.
- IARI and CAQM data show recorded incidents dropped sharply this season (Punjab 5,114 vs 10,909 in 2024; region 6,080 vs 12,750), alongside a two-thirds fall in FIRs and lower fines.
- iFOREST’s multi-satellite analysis finds over 90% of large Punjab fires in 2024–25 occurred after 3 pm, indicating polar-orbiting satellite fire counts miss most events.
- Burnt-area mapping shows smaller reductions than fire counts suggest, with Punjab down about 37% since 2022 and Haryana about 25%, and a year-on-year rise in Haryana’s burnt area versus 2024.
- Researchers urge CREAMS and IITM’s DSS to integrate burnt-area and geostationary data and to track emerging hotspots in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, as Delhi’s air remains unsafe from local sources.