Impact of crop residue burning on regional air quality over the Indo-Gangetic Plain: a comparative study during different cultivation patterns
- 1Civil Engineering Department, Institute of Engineering and Technology
- 2Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
- 3Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Ministry of Earth Sciences
Abstract
The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) in north India experiences severe seasonal air pollution from different crop residue burning (CRB) of the two different cultivation pattern such as wheat stubble in post-rabi (April–May) and paddy in post-kharif season (October–November). The present study evaluates the decadal impacts of CRB during the post-rabi and post-kharif periods for the first time on PM2.5 levels across 140 stations over the IGP from 2015 to 2024. Results revealed that the fire activity during the post kharif season was ~ 4 and ~ 1.5 times higher in Punjab and Haryana, respectively but ~ 56.5% lower in Uttar Pradesh (UP) as compared to the post-rabi season, with a peak burning observed in November and May months, respectively. Despite negligible fires, Delhi recorded the highest PM2.5 concentrations during post-rabi (85.95 µg/m³) and post-kharif (167.37 µg/m³) season, highlighting the role of regional pollution transport. The average PM2.5 concentration during the post-rabi season was 48.76, 71.66, 85.95 and 66.00 µg/m³ in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and UP, with ~ 22%, 63%, 76% and 51% days exceedance to its standard limit, respectively. On the other hand, PM2.5 was worsened during the post kharif, with an exceedance of ~ 90% in all states, except Punjab (~ 67% exceedance). While policies have reduced fire activities in Punjab and Haryana regions, their effectiveness is limited by the meteorological conditions and inadequate focus on post-rabi crop burning.
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BibTeX
@article{singh2026impact,
title = {{Impact of crop residue burning on regional air quality over the Indo-Gangetic Plain: a comparative study during different cultivation patterns}},
author = {Anjali Singh and Amarendra Singh and Sumit Singh and Deeksha Bajpai and Rohan Anand and Vivek Singh and Virendra Pathak and Atul Kumar Srivastava},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-61197-z},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61197-z},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Impact of crop residue burning on regional air quality over the Indo-Gangetic Plain: a comparative study during different cultivation patterns
AU - Anjali Singh
AU - Amarendra Singh
AU - Sumit Singh
AU - Deeksha Bajpai
AU - Rohan Anand
AU - Vivek Singh
AU - Virendra Pathak
AU - Atul Kumar Srivastava
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-61197-z
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61197-z
AB - The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) in north India experiences severe seasonal air pollution from different crop residue burning (CRB) of the two different cultivation pattern such as wheat stubble in post-rabi (April–May) and paddy in post-kharif season (October–November). The present study evaluates the decadal impacts of CRB during the post-rabi and post-kharif periods for the first time on PM2.5 levels across 140 stations over the IGP from 2015 to 2024. Results revealed that the fire activity during the post kharif season was ~ 4 and ~ 1.5 times higher in Punjab and Haryana, respectively but ~ 56.5% lower in Uttar Pradesh (UP) as compared to the post-rabi season, with a peak burning observed in November and May months, respectively. Despite negligible fires, Delhi recorded the highest PM2.5 concentrations during post-rabi (85.95 µg/m³) and post-kharif (167.37 µg/m³) season, highlighting the role of regional pollution transport. The average PM2.5 concentration during the post-rabi season was 48.76, 71.66, 85.95 and 66.00 µg/m³ in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and UP, with ~ 22%, 63%, 76% and 51% days exceedance to its standard limit, respectively. On the other hand, PM2.5 was worsened during the post kharif, with an exceedance of ~ 90% in all states, except Punjab (~ 67% exceedance). While policies have reduced fire activities in Punjab and Haryana regions, their effectiveness is limited by the meteorological conditions and inadequate focus on post-rabi crop burning.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -