India's New Approach to Counting Farm Fires: A Shift from Satellites to Burnt Areas

India is planning a new method for counting farm fires by monitoring burnt areas instead of using satellites to track active fires. This change comes amid concerns that the current method may not accurately capture all instances of farm fires, which significantly contribute to pollution.

In a bid to enhance the accuracy of tracking farm fires, India is shifting away from relying solely on satellite data to count these fires. Instead, authorities plan to focus on assessing the burnt areas left behind by these fires. This move follows criticism that the current satellite-based method does not fully capture the prevalence of farm fires, a leading contributor to pollution in northern India.

The practice of setting farm fires continues despite legal restrictions, as farmers seek to clear crop waste swiftly to prepare for the new harvest. While there are government subsidies available for machines that offer an alternative to burning, their high cost and limited availability hinder widespread adoption among farmers.

Questions have arisen about the reliability of satellite data when it was found that some farm fires might be intentionally timed to evade detection by orbiting NASA satellites. Suggesting an alternative, a South Korean stationary satellite was cited for its ability to capture fires at different times. However, the Indian government has expressed reservations about this method's effectiveness.

(With inputs from agencies.)