Small farmer Aashish Sharma has been burning crop stubble in recent days even though he is aware of its impact on air quality nearby and in New Delhi, the world's most polluted capital located about three hours away by road.
Smoke rises from the burning stubble in a crop field in a village in Karnal district in the northern state of Haryana, India, November 4, 2023.
The average waiting time to rent a machine is about two weeks. Buying one for nearly 300,000 rupees is unaffordable for the small farmers in the village, they said, highlighting the challenge authorities face in trying to improve northern India's air every winter. Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana has typically accounted for 30% to 40% of Delhi's October-November pollution, according to government air-quality monitoring agency SAFAR.
"I am coughing every day and feel irritation in my eyes but would prefer to take some medicine or a drink in the evening than incur extra costs."Ajay Singh Rana, a Haryana farm official, said the number of farms burning stubble in Karnal had dropped to 96 so far this year from 270 last year. He said fines had been imposed in 73 cases."I have been feeling breathless and very uncomfortable for the past month," the 75-year-old said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Hot topic: Researches push to reduce fire risk from lithium-ion batteriesNidhi Sharma is an associate producer with the NBC News Climate Unit.
Read more »
Indian banking leaders Rajeev and Rao secure tenure extensionsIndian banking leaders Rajeev and Rao secure tenure extensions
Read more »
Biden’s AI executive order slams small entitiesChristmas came early this year for Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. The present was President Joe Biden's new executive order restricting artificial intelligence. Altman used to preach the benefits of open-source AI, so much so that he named his company after it. Now, he’s singing a different tune — and the White House is listening.
Read more »
Pelicans guard C.J. McCollum out indefinitely with small collapsed lungNew Orleans Pelicans guard C.J. McCollum was diagnosed with a small pneumothorax, otherwise known as a collapsed lung, on Sunday afternoon, the team announced.
Read more »
‘Incredibly sad’: Mayor of small Alabama city dies after online postsCitizens in an eastern Alabama town are grieving after their mayor died on Friday. And they are angry at the circumstances that led to his death.
Read more »
Goldman Sachs boosts Indian presence with record managing director promotionsGoldman Sachs boosts Indian presence with record managing director promotions
Read more »