SPATIAL-TEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF STUBBLE BURNING IN PUNJAB USING ArcGIS AND ITS IMPACT ON GREEN HOUSE GAS AND PARTICULATES EMISSIONS

Abstract

Burning crop residue is a significant worldwide environmental issue and one of the main contributors to the atmosphere's pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Burning agricultural crop residue increases the emission of smoke, particulates matter, CO2, N2O, CH4, CO, NH3, NOx, SO2, NMHC, and volatile organic compounds, all of which are harmful to human health. Crop residue is produced in large amounts, with 71% of the net sown area planted in paddy during the kharif season and 84.6% under wheat during the rabi season. Of this, each year, 25% of the wheat straw and 95% of the paddy straw are burned. The dangerous practice has had a negative impact on soil, air, road safety, health, and other areas, resulting in significant financial and physical losses. This study calculated the greenhouse gas emissions related with analysing active stubble burning data data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) during a 5-year period (2019–2023). Using the MODIS-Terra+Aqua Direct Broadcast Burned Area Monthly L3 Global 500 SIN Grid V061) product, Arc GIS Pro 10.3 and the Punjab government GIS portal for crop burning data, fire hotspots were identified, indicating that the burning of crop residue in Punjab's agricultural fields may be the cause of the elevated pollutant levels. Analysis of active fire locations found in the MODIS and PRSC Crop Residue Burning (CRB) Information and Management System over a five-year period between the kharif and rabi seasons indicates that stubble burning is still being done. In Punjab, there were 358965 burning events total between 2019 and 2023, distributed as follows: 73684, 90943, 82178, 64135 and 48026. Monitoring conducted at the district level in Punjab's southwest and eastern regions during the research period revealed a notable increase in the number of fire incidents. For rice crops, the anticipated total greenhouse gas and particulates emissions between 2019 and 2023 varied from 19868 Gg/year to 21,921 Gg/year and for wheat crops, from 7961 Gg/year to 9852 Gg/year. The main causes of the practice's persistence were found to be a scarcity of buyers, a lack of time for the next harvest, a lack of support from the state government, and a workforce shortage. Farmers were advised to take steps to address the issue, such as using it as animal feed, providing subsidies for machines like the "Happy Seeder," which produce less straw during harvesting etc.