30% drop In Punjab's stubble burning cases: How reliable is the data?

Experts say cloudy skies in 2022 and farmers only burning part of the stubble could have led to an underestimation of this year's stubble fires

On December 5, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) announced a 30% drop in the number of open fire incidents in Punjab and a 48% drop in Haryana during this year's paddy stubble burning season from September 15 to November 30. But experts say that satellite data alone are not enough to establish an actual decrease in stubble burning. This is because data accuracy depends on meteorological conditions, the resolution of satellite images and the period for which the satellite is recording observations from the area.

The government said that efforts by the central and state