iFOREST CEO Chandra Bhushan: Satellites Miss 90% of Farm Fires in Punjab, Haryana After 3 PM

In this Special Report, India Today’s Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor discusses a groundbreaking new study with Chandra Bhushan, CEO of iFOREST. The report reveals that official data significantly undercounts stubble burning in North India because monitoring satellites like MODIS and VIIRS only track fires between 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM. Bhushan explains that farmers have shifted burning times, stating, 'So the satellite that is used to measure farm fire only has visibility during a window of three hours. 21 hours, we have nothing to see what is happening on the ground.' The study finds that over 90% of large fires in Punjab and Haryana now occur after 3 PM. Despite these monitoring gaps, Bhushan notes a positive trend, highlighting that the total burnt area has reduced from 30,000 square kilometers in 2021 to 20,000 square kilometers recently.