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Delhi's pollution worsens, PM2.5 ten times the safe level

With the onset of winters, Delhi's battle with poisonous air has also started and Wednesday's hazardous condition proves the same. As per reports, the PM2.5 concentration reached ten times more than what is prescribed as safe. The Air Quality Index (AQI) also went from "poor" to "very poor" within a few hours and was recorded at 343 by 4 pm. "Stubble burning comes and goes, local actions must be strengthened" Anumita Roy Chowdhury, the executive director at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), asserted that local pollutants must be controlled since they get trapped in adverse weather conditions.

Smog verschärft Corona-Lage in Neu Delhi

Der Smog und ein Rekordanstieg der Corona-Neuinfektionen machen Indiens Hauptstadt Neu Delhi immer stärker zu schaffen. Zwischen beiden Ereignissen gebe es einen Zusammenhang, sagte der Regierungschef der Region Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, am Donnerstag. „Die CoronaSituation verschlimmert sich wegen der Luftverschmutzung.“ Die Behörden untersagten derweil in der Hauptstadt den Gebrauch von Feuerwerkskörpern beim Diwali-Fest, der wichtigsten religiösen Feier des Landes. „Wir werden zusammenkommen, um Diwali ohne Knaller zu feiern. Wenn wir Knaller zum Platzen bringen, beeinträchtigen wir das Leben unserer Familie und unserer Kinder“, sagte der Regierungschef bei einer OnlineÜbertragung. In Indien findet das DiwaliFest am 14. November statt. Von einem Zusammenhang zwischen der Luftverschmutzung und der Corona-Krise im Land geht auch Anumita Roy Chowdhury vom in Delhi ansässigen Zentrum für Wissenschaft und Umwelt aus. „Einige globale Studien haben bereits gezeigt, dass die Auswirkungen der Pandemie in stärker verschmutzten Regionen höher sind“, sagte Chowdhury.

Delhi battling dual crises of pollution and coronavirus

This article was published in thejakartapost.com with the title "Delhi battling dual crises of pollution and coronavirus India's capital is reeling from the double impact of the coronavirus and severe air pollution, New Delhi's chief minister warned Thursday, as the megacity reported a record jump in cases and its worst smog in a year. With fears growing about rising infections, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also banned firecrackers from being used this month during Diwali, the biggest festival on the Hindu calendar. The air quality index - measuring the tiny particles which enter the bloodstream and vital organs - was at its most dangerous since last November, according to the state-run System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). The toxic haze blanketing Delhi, which regularly turns the city of 20 million people into the world's most-polluted, came as officials late Wednesday reported a new daily-high of 6,842 virus infections in the capital. And the filthy air is actually driving more cases of COVID-19, Kejriwal told an online briefing. "The corona situation is worsening because of pollution," he said, echoing medical analysis which says existing illnesses caused by poor air quality could make people more vulnerable to the coronavirus. Anumita Roy Chowdhury, of the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, told AFP: "Some global studies have already shown how the effect of the pandemic is higher in more polluted regions." And Santosh Harish, at the Delhi-based Center for Policy Research, said: "Evidence from previous related infections and emerging research suggest that pollution exposure could increase severity of the infection, and the transmission of the virus." Kejriwal blamed the choking smoke on agricultural burning, saying regional state governments were not helping farmers to find alternative ways to clear their fields. "We will come together to celebrate Diwali without crackers. If we burst crackers, we are affecting the lives of our family and our children," he added. The cracker frenzy usually turns Delhi's grey winter skies into a putrid yellow. Every winter, Delhi is blanketed by haze from a build-up of vehicle fumes, industrial emissions and smoke from agricultural fires in regions around the capital. The pollution is exacerbated by cooler temperatures and slow-moving winds that trap pollutants over the city. SAFAR said Thursday that crop stubble burning in states near the capital was the highest this season with some 4,135 fires. India is the world's second most-infected nation after the United States with more than 8.3 million COVID-19 cases. Healthcare systems, already stretched by the pandemic, could be further stressed by more hospitalizations from pollution-related illnesses, researchers say.

10 times the standard PM2.5 concentration, low wind speed: Factors that caused thick haze in Delhi

New Delhi: The national capital has been struggling with 'very poor' air quality due to the high concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 pollutants. On Thursday, the air quality index (AQI) of Delhi docked at 333, which falls in the 'very poor' category. On Wednesday, a thick haze covered Delhi, reducing visibility to as low as 600 metres. In areas like Safdarjung, PM2.5 pollutants rose up 10 times over the standard level by the afternoon and the haze thickened. A similar trend was observed in the overall AQI of the national capital where air pollution increased during the day with the AQI reaching 343. Experts revealed that the spike in air pollution and thick haze were observed in the national capital due to several factors. From low wind speed to low temperatures, multiple factors adversely affected the air quality of Delhi. Stubble burning not a factor Stubble burning, which is often blamed for the poor air quality of Delhi in winters, was not a reason that played a part in the spike. As per System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the share of stubble burning reduced to 5 per cent on Wednesday due to a change in the direction of wind. Kuldeep Srivastava, a scientist at India Meteorological Department told The Times of India that pollutants could not disperse on Wednesday as the speed of the wind was below 5 km/hr. He added that another factor that led to a spike in pollution was the low temperature. Low temperature also reduces the speed of dispersion. Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said, "The contribution of stubble burning to Delhi's air was reduced to only 5 per cent but the adverse weather conditions led to trapping of local pollutants. It shows why we must have stringent control on local pollutants."

Thick haze wraps Delhi, PM2.5 10x of safe level

NEW DELHI: A thick haze engulfed the city within a matter of hours on Wednesday afternoon, with visibility dropping considerably. It fell to as low as 600 metres at Safdarjung as air pollution levels shot up to around 10 times the standard for PM 2.5 concentration by 3 pm. Track the pollution level in your city Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI), measured over a 24-hour period, also shot up sharply during the day, deteriorating from the ‘poor’ category in the morning to the ‘very poor’ category at 343 by 4 pm. The city is likely to witness further deterioration in the AQI over the next 24 hours and it may even touch ‘severe’, according to officials. Times View Smog enveloped Delhi in an apocalyptic shroud on Wednesday. In this backdrop, the ordinance brought by the Centre to tackle air pollution late last month is timely. But intention always needs to be backed by a commitment of purpose and action. The Centre must walk the talk, and fast. A Dim View Of Things In Delhi Visibility as low as 600 metres at safdarjung; air quality may dip further in next 48 hours According to experts, a mix of factors, such as low wind speed, a low mixing height and low temperatures, which have been prevailing in the region over the past 48 hours, led to stagnant conditions with the wind speed remaining below 5 km/hr for several hours. However, stubble burning did not contribute to this episodic event with SAFAR, a central government agency, pegging the contribution of farm fires to Delhi’s air at just 5%, owing to a change in wind direction. The IMD has also warned of moderate fog on Thursday morning due to these prevailing ‘calm’ conditions Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at India Meteorological Department, said: “Calm wind conditions prevailed on Tuesday night, and even during the day on Wednesday, the wind speed was below 5 km/hr, making it tough for pollutants to disperse. Besides this, the minimum temperature has been hovering around 10 degrees Celsius for the past two days. A low temperature slows down dispersion of pollutants.” He added that as the wind direction changed to westerly on Wednesday morning, there was minimum transfer of pollutants from Punjab and Haryana. According to IMD, the visibility dropped to its lowest at 600 metres at Safdarjung station while it was 800 metres at Palam from 3pm to 5pm on Wednesday. On Thursday, the minimum temperature stood at 10.6 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal, while the maximum temperature was 28 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal. The season’s lowest minimum temperature was recorded at 10 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal, on Tuesday. Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said: “The contribution of stubble to Delhi’s air was reduced to only 5% but the adverse weather conditions led to trapping of local pollutants. It shows why we must have stringent control on local pollutants. Stubble is variable as it comes and goes. However, continuous pollution happening inside the city makes Delhi hugely vulnerable when the weather turns adverse like Wednesday when the wind dissipated and couldn’t blow away the pollutants. This shows that we have to strengthen our local action.”

Delhi government’s anti-firecracker drive begins

Environment minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday kick-started the Delhi government’s anti-cracker campaign, urging people to avoid fireworks on Diwali, or to at least to ensure they buy only the ‘green’, low-emission varieties, in an attempt to cut down on air pollution, which is a bigger concern this year due to the Covid-19 crisis. As part of the campaign, Rai visited Sadar Bazar, one of Delhi’s biggest wholesale firecracker markets, for an inspection and to ensure only green crackers are sold. Diwali this year will be celebrated on November 14. Every year, pollution levels see a major spike after the festival as people openly burst firecrackers. Under this campaign, 11 teams of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee have been directed to ensure no traditional, polluting crackers are used or sold. Apart from these teams, Delhi Police personnel and sub-divisional magistrates of all districts will inspect markets to ensure old stocks of traditional varieties are not sold clandestinely. “According to directions of the Supreme Court, polluting crackers have been banned in Delhi and only pollution-free green crackers have been allowed this year. The teams will ensure only the less-polluting varieties of crackers are sold. I would also like to request Delhiites to avoid bursting crackers, as much as possible,” said Rai.

Diwali: Mix not Covid and crackers

The combination of deadly dust and smoke released by fireworks is extremely harmful to those suffering from Covid or have recovered from the disease, doctors and environmentalists say. The effect of the toxic particulates and fume will be many times more this Diwali because it falls on November 14. The cool mid-November air, environmentalists say, will trap the pollutants close to the ground for long. Metro spoke to experts to assess the impending danger. How do fireworks add to air pollution? The major gases released by fireworks are sulphur dioxide, various oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. All of them pollute the air we breathe. “Oxides and compounds of many toxic heavy metals like copper, vanadium, cobalt, iron, cadmium and aluminum, released by fireworks, become part of particulate composition, both PM10 and PM2.5, in the air,” said Siddhartha Datta, a retired professor of chemical engineering at Jadavpur University. PM10 and PM2.5 are fine particulates that enter deep into the lungs and trigger a host of critical ailments, including cancer. How can a late Diwali add to the problem? Diwali this year will be celebrated long after the withdrawal of the monsoon. The withdrawal facilitates the arrival of the northwesterly wind. “Compared with Diwali in October, a mid-November Diwali will definitely be drier and cooler unless a major weather system develops in between,” said G.K. Das, regional director of IMD Calcutta. A drop in temperature will lead to a phenomenon called thermal inversion, which will cause pollutant-rich cool air to remain close to the surface. “Such a trend, coupled with near-stagnant air as found during the period, leads to a situation where most of us will be forced to remain in a highly polluted air bubble. Burning of fireworks enhances the toxicity of such a bubble,” said Datta. Such polluting columns, he said, may grow to about 60 feet. How enhanced air pollution will impact Covid patients? “While sulphur dioxide directly irritates the respiratory system, oxides of nitrogen increase oxidative stress and affect the protective mucosal layer of the lungs, magnifying the risk of attack from viruses like SARS-CoV-2,” said pulmonologist Arup Haldar. “Enhanced pollution is deadly not only for Covid patients, whose lungs are compromised, but also those who have recovered from the disease,” said pulmonologist Alok Gopal Ghosal. Ghosal pointed out that Covid patients, after being cured of infection, are taking long to recover from respiratory ailments. Exposure to increased pollution will only worsen the situation.“Even without Covid, according to the latest global report, almost one out of every four global air pollution deaths occurs in India. The Diwali pollution during the pandemic will add to the vulnerability,” said Anumita Roy Choudhury, an air pollution expert from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Who are the most vulnerable? Just about anyone. Covid patients and those who have recovered from the coronavirus disease are more vulnerable. It would be worse for the elderly.

Delhi air was dirtier this October than in 2019

NEW DELHI: Delhi saw worse air pollution this October than in the same month in 2019, despite Diwali falling in October last year, CPCB data shows. Delhi averaged an AQI of 265 (poor) in October this year as compared to 234 last October. Track the pollution level in your city This despite air quality having fallen to “severe” on the final couple of days of October last year, following Diwali celebrations on the 27th. This October, the AQI did not touch severe levels but pollution was high due to meteorological factors and a sharp increase in farm fires in Punjab. November pain could be sharper October 2020 has, however, fared marginally better than October 2018, which had an average AQI of 269, data shows. Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at India Meteorological Department (IMD) and head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, said, “Though the monsoon withdrawal happened on September 30 this year, Delhi did not receive rainfall since September 8. In 2019, the capital received moderate showers of 47.3 mm on October 4 and trace rainfall on October 1, while there was extended monsoon till October 10 last year.” “Moderate to high rainfall helps in settling down pollutants while light rain could make air quality worse,” Srivastava said. He added that calm winds prevailed during most of the nights in October this year impacting dispersion of pollutants while wind speed was nil in the third week of the month in 2019. While October 2017 had the highest average AQI amongst the four years, Delhi only had half the number of stations then (17) than it does now (36), while Diwali had also come much earlier that year (October 19). Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said, “Stubble burning started earlier this year and its contribution to Delhi’s PM2.5 was substantially high on a few days. Last year, the air quality deteriorated during Diwali time but AQI was affected this October due to stubble burning and winter conditions.”

On Nov. 6, check out young Sudbury climate activist Sophia Mathur in 'The Nature of Things' season premiere

Sophia Mathur, the young Sudbury teen who brought the Fridays for Future movement to Greater Sudbury, will be featured in the premiere of the 60th season of CBC television’s The Nature of Things Nov. 6. In 2018, she began spending one Friday a month away from the classroom to lead public protests in solidarity with Swedish teenager and climate activist, Greta Thunberg. Thunberg was nominated last year for a Nobel Peace Prize for creating the Fridays For Future (FFF) movement. Mathur was one of the first youth to join FFF international and soon after established Fridays For Future Sudbury (FFFS). To launch the 60th season of CBC’s The Nature of Things, host David Suzuki goes to the front lines of the climate rebellion, and into the streets that raged with protests this summer, to paint a vivid portrait of a generation in revolt. “Rebellion,” the exciting new documentary from producers/directors Mark and Caitlin Starowicz, premieres Friday, November 6 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service. In Rebellion, Suzuki profiles activists in the revolt, from Greta Thunberg with her Fridays for Future strikes, to Gail Bradbrook of the Extinction Rebellion movement that has seized headlines with their dramatic actions. Rebellion also features interviews with leading figures in the climate crisis, including Sir David Attenborough, known the world over for his brilliant nature documentaries and now his passionate call for governments to wake up to the climate catastrophe. “Suddenly people are hearing,” Attenborough tells Suzuki. “And suddenly young people, particularly, are saying it out loud, and they’re saying to the older generation, which I guess contains us both: How could you let this happen? You knew about it, how could you let this happen?” Audiences will hear from veteran activists and new ones: actor Jane Fonda rallying in front of the Capitol in Washington; Varshini Prakash of Sunrise Movement that has had a major impact on the US election; legendary climate activist Bill McKibben of 350.org, as he dramatically leads an occupation of the Chase Bank; and leading activists in India, like Bhavreen Kandhari and her “army” of children, as well as acclaimed climate scientist Sunita Narain, who takes aim at the US and Canada for their “massive carbon footprint.” “Rebellion” is an action-filled documentary that captures the beginnings of a movement that is changing the world. Directed and produced by the family documentary team of Mark Starowicz and Caitlin Starowicz (She Walks with Apes, Mommy Wildest). Suzuki brings a wealth of personal experience to this story, as his daughter, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, was the first young person to gain worldwide notoriety when she issued a plea for action on climate change in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. In Rebellion, Cullis-Suzuki reflects on the differences between activism then and now, noting that her generation did not have the benefit of social media and speaking positively about how much today’s school kids have accomplished. Even as the coronavirus kept activists indoors, they kept up their campaigns on social media. Then, as calls for racial justice began to receive increasing support across the U.S. and globally, bringing tens of thousands on to the streets around the world, the calls for climate justice merged with that movement, and the protests continue to this day. For civil rights leader and activist, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, climate protest and the fight for racial justice are intertwined. “This movement is now beginning to understand what it means to take care of humanity,” he says in Rebellion. “It’s a time to care about our brothers and sisters here on this planet.” “Rebellion” sets the stage for what might come next: “Young people are driving this,” says Suzuki, “and it’s about their very survival in the future.” “This was an extraordinary journey for us,” says co-director Mark Starowicz, “I think this is a generational tipping point – the world is changing.” “The sense of energy and passion we saw was overwhelming,” says co-director Caitlin Starowicz, “we were on the front lines of fundamental social change.”

Delhi briefly bans some construction to reduce deadly pollution

India's federal pollution control board has temporarily banned some construction activity in New Delhi and called for stringent measures to stop farm fires causing air quality to plummet and leaving a toxic haze. The Indian capital has been facing one of the worst spells of air pollution in years, which doctors and environmentalists say is worsening the health effects of a third wave of coronavirus infections. Delhi's air quality index was "very poor" at 334 on a scale of 500 on Wednesday. That was an improvement from severe conditions in the past three days after wind picked up and dispersed pollutants. But air quality is forecast to deteriorate closer to the Hindu festival Diwali this weekend, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said in a notice. The CPCB ordered a shutdown of asphalt mixing plants and stone crushers until Nov. 17 in the capital and satellite cities, and told city authorities to ensure stricter enforcement of dust control at all construction sites and penalize violators. Other measures included stepping up mechanized cleaning of roads and checks on rubbish burning. Beyond the capital itself, the pollution board ordered the state governments of nearby Punjab and Haryana to take "immediate stringent actions" to curb stubble burning, which has been a major source of air pollution this season. "These are temporary measures where the big challenge would be enforcement," said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, an executive director of research and advocacy at the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment. "But, the awareness level among people needs to go up dramatically this year because of COVID-19." On Monday, India's main environment court, the National Green Tribunal, forbid the sale and use of firecrackers, a traditional part of Diwali celebrations.

Enough laws to tackle pollution, political will lacking: experts

In 1985, social activist and lawyer M C Mehta filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking the closure of Shriram Industries, operating in a dense area of Delhi. MC Mehta vs Union of India would go on to become a landmark environmental case and, over the coming decades, the basis for a slew of orders to check air and water pollution – including the setting up of the EPCA or the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority for the National Capital Region of Delhi. With the Centre now bringing in a new ordinance for the setting up of a Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas, a body that will see the EPCA getting dissolved, Mehta says the battle against air pollution lacks not laws or committees, but political will. “The problem is of lobbies such as the vehicular lobby… If it weren’t for the intervention of the courts, very little would have got done,’’ says Mehta, adding the Commission’s composition of primarily government officials – from the Centre and states – is therefore a matter of concern. EXPLAINED Difference in size, power A key difference between the new commission and EPCA are their size and composition, as well as powers. The commission, Additional Secretary (Environment) Ravi Aggarwal says, will have 17 members, drawn from across sectors and even from NITI Aayog, ISRO and NGOs. The EPCA had seven members, two of them permanent. While EPCA had some powers, the commission has powers as well as duties, which means that it is “accountable and has to show results”, Aggarwal says. The EPCA's main function was to assist the Supreme Court. “If the government did its job, there would be no need to set up commissions, or for people to approach the courts. The manner in which the ordinance was brought in, overnight, without a proper discussion, was also inappropriate,’’ he says. Navroz Dubash, professor, Centre for Policy Research, reiterates Mehta’s stance, saying an effective executive would have been able to curb air pollution. “There should be a well-designed executive body with defined public space within it representing all sectors, because the problem of pollution is multi-sectoral. The intent of the Commission is off-kilter. It seems to view the problem of air pollution as one of enforcement, whereas it is a political problem – one of political will,’’ says Dubash. Dubash was appointed to the EPCA when it was reconstituted in 2018. In 2019, he resigned “because I didn’t feel I was being effective in EPCA, where the members had little input”. He adds that persistent problems will continue despite the Commission. “Take, for instance, stubble burning. Farmers have relevant questions of why they are being targeted and not the transport sector,’’ he say. The Environment Ministry, however, points to fundamental differences between the EPCA and the new Commission to say that the new body will be more effective. Additional Secretary Ravi Aggarwal says, “The Commission, unlike the EPCA, has the power to appoint officers and IGs of different states are also members of the body – which is what you need for effective implementation.’’ The Commission can also take suo motu cognizance of violations or act on complaints. “These were powers that had been given to the EPCA as well. But in two decades, the EPCA did not take a single suo motu action and did not receive any complaints….The EPCA has been a failure not just of governance but also of civil society groups. They did not address citizen grievances at all, which they were meant to do,’’ says environmental lawyer Ritwick Dutta.

Pollution spirals out of control as government sleeps at the wheel

As the iconic India Gate disappeared behind a curtain of thick, toxic haze once again this week, the Central government finally moved beyond advising people to eat carrots and listen to music to deal with air pollution. As Delhi battled with alarming levels of pollution in November last year, Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare had tweeted “Carrots also help against other pollution-related harm to health.” Prakash Javadekar, the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate change had shared a music composition and said “Start your day with music.” Severely criticised by the Supreme Court for its nonchalance this time around, the Centre has formed a new agency and given it enough legal and administrative teeth to clean up the air in the National Capital Region.

Payment for not burning stubble?

My logic, as an environmentalist and campaigner for clean air, is that this will be a perverse incentive, writes Sunita Narain By : Sunita Narain Should farmers get paid for not burning their fields? This is an extremely contentious issue today because the northern Indian region stares at another winter when stubble is burnt in fields and winds bring the pollution to cities like Delhi — already choking from the spit of vehicles and local sources of pollution. The logic behind this is that rewarding farmers with cash would dissuade them from burning their fields. My logic, as an environmentalist and campaigner for clean air, is that this will be a perverse incentive. In other words, it will be easily abused so that there is more stubble burning as there will be the promise of the reward; and each year the amount of the reward will have to be raised. The incentive will become the perverse reason for doing what is clearly wrong. But, I am being screamed at in social media platforms — the taglines being “I am elitist, ignorant, out of touch with reality” and, of course, “anti-farmer”. That said, it is a fact when the reward was given last year — the Punjab government disbursed some Rs 29 crore to 31,231 farmers — the number of stubble fires actually went up against the previous year’s count. But that is not even the point. Farmers need assistance — there is no question about that. I am not even talking about the larger problem of agrarian distress where farmers are caught in the pincer between high prices of inputs as against the need to depress food prices for consumers. This system that discounts the labour of farmers ends up discounting their soil and water systems as well. It needs to be fixed. We need to recognise the problem and find the way ahead — one that provides income to farmers and improves environmental sustainability. We know farmers burn stubble because they have a short period between when they harvest paddy and when they have to sow the next wheat crop. We also know that this period has been shortened because the government has notified a delay in planting paddy — postponed by roughly a month so that it is planted closer to when the monsoon arrives in the region; all this has been done so that farmers do not overexploit groundwater. You can argue that farmers should not plant paddy in these water-scarce regions. You would be correct. But the answer is complicated because governments procure paddy with an assured minimum support price (MSP). Farmers then are caught in the pernicious pecuniary trap — the stubble of basmati paddy is not burnt because it can be used for fodder. But basmati paddy is not under MSP because it can be traded internationally. So, farmers still grow non-basmati paddy for MSP and then have no alternative but to burn the stubble. They choke, we choke. The answer then is three-fold: One, use machines to plough back the straw into the ground and do so without impinging on the time that is needed for sowing the wheat crop. But agricultural equipment are expensive (also, they were not available till a few years back). So, in the past two years, the Union government has provided funds so that state governments can procure these machines and make them available to farmers at no cost or at a minimal cost of operation. By the beginning of the stubble-burning season this year, in Punjab alone, some 50,000 machines had been given at 80 per cent subsidy to custom-hiring centres and to individual farmers. Tilling biomass back into the ground would also improve soil fertility. The second part of the solution is to provide value to the biomass — farmers will not burn if they can be paid for the straw. There is huge potential here — from generating power to using straw to make compressed biogas (CBG). Much is happening here as well. The first CBG project should go online by early 2021; many more are in the pipeline. Last month the Reserve Bank of India put CBG on its list of priority-sector lending; the State Bank of India has circulated a loan scheme for this; and, oil companies have agreed on a buy-back rate of Rs 46/kg for five years. So, the straw that is burnt today will be converted into fuel for use in vehicles. Then there is also the option of using straw to replace coal in old power plants — this would not only help to extend the life of the built infrastructure, but will also reduce environmental costs. The third option is to wean farmers away from growing paddy and to diversify their cropping options. This, obviously, is more challenging but needs to be done. The fact is that we need to do much more to provide real options to farmers. For instance, they could be paid for their ecosystem service of soil organic carbon sequestration. But all this needs to be done in ways that it builds the foundation for doing what is right. To justify that farmers must burn if they are not paid cash incentive is doing injustice to them and to the lungs of the children of the country.