ISSN 2436-987X (Print)
ISSN 2436-9888 (Online)

Working Paper No. 1

Aakash Working Paper

Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab,
India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdownbyHaruhisa ASADA(Nara Women’s University)
Kamal VATTA(Punjab Agricultural University)
March 2022

This Aakash Working Paper No.1 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Credit must be
given to the creator, Noncommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Published by
Aakash Project of Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047 JAPANThis publication is available in electronic format:
Aakash Project Website (https://aakash-rihn.org)
RIHN Institutional Repository (https://chikyu.repo.nii.ac.jp/?lang=english)
About the Aakash Working Papers
These working papers are based on the work of the Aakash Project at the Research Institute for
Humanity and Nature (RIHN), Kyoto, Japan.
This study addresses air pollution caused by the large-scale post-harvest burning of rice straw in
October and November in the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. The burning results in severe air
pollution in the areas around it, affecting public health and the well-being of hundreds of millions ofpeople. Therefore, the Aakash project aims to encourage the social change needed to keep air clean,
improve public health, and develop sustainable agriculture in northwestern India.
The aim of this series is to share the initial findings and lessons learned from the research studies
conducted by the Aakash project. By sharing new knowledge in a prompt manner, we will be able toidentify complexities and develop solutions faster than if this was not done. In addition, reporting
detailed information and data that cannot be presented in a general paper will create new areas ofknowledge. We hope that the publication of this series will stimulate discussion among project members and facilitate communication with academic and general stakeholders outside the project.

© 2022. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.

Preface
The Aakash Project, which started in 2017 as an incubation study of the Research Institutefor Humanity and Nature, was adopted after a 2-year feasibility study period, and completed its
pre-research activities in 2019. In April 2020, the project commenced full research activities. At
that time, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged and the international
movement of people was restricted to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. As such, travel between India and Japan was halted. Many of the project members from Japan were planning tovisit India for research activities, but all of these visits were cancelled. This was a major set-backfor our project.
However, a strong bond developed between the Indian and Japanese members of the teamthroughout the period leading up to full research activities. In 2020, when the Japanese membersof the team were unable to travel to India, the Centers for International Projects Trust, a Punjabbased nongovernmental organization, took on the responsibility of conducting a questionnaire
survey. Some of the results of this survey are reported in this first issue of the Aakash working
paper.
In this report, we present the results of an analysis of the differences in rice straw burning
between 2019 and 2020 from various perspectives. This is a rare study that captured the effect of
the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic was an unexpected event for us, but it is noteworthy that
we were able to obtain valuable data at a time of great social change.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to our colleagues in India for making this researchpossible. I am also pleased to publish this first issue of the Aakash Working Paper Series as a testament to the bonds that bind us all. We hope that this working paper series will continue to stimulate debate among members of the Aakash Project and among external academics and stakeholders.


March 2022
Sachiko Hayashida, Professor, Dr. Sci.
Aakash project leader
Research Institute for Humanity and Nature

Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown

Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab,
India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown
Haruhisa ASADA1,* and Kamal VATTA2Nara Women’s University, Japan,
Punjab Agricultural University, India*Corresponding author (asada@cc.nara-wu.ac.jp)
12Abstract

Air pollution caused by stubble burning has become an increasing problem in Northern India during thepast decade, with no effective solution yet to be found. In this study, to understand the current situationin Punjab, a village-level questionnaire survey was conducted in 129 villages across 12 districts fromJanuary to February 2021. The stubble burning area estimated from the survey was compared with fire
detection counts and fire radiative power data obtained from satellite observations. The regional characteristics of stubble burning and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown were also examined in terms oftransplanting and harvesting dates, shift to direct-seeded rice and the machine transplantation of rice.
The findings revealed north–south differences in agricultural practices as well as stubble burning within
the state. The interval between the kharif and rabi crops remained the same or was shorter in 2020, resulting in an increase in stubble burning in some villages. The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on
stubble burning was negligible, except in villages near large cities where labour shortages were particularly apparent.
Keywords: stubble burning, air pollution, satellite observation, labour shortage, COVID-19

Introduction

In Northern India, air pollution caused by stubble burning was first observed during the 1980s following the establishment of rice and wheat double cropping systems. Since then, air pollution has become increasingly apparent, especially with the implementation of The Punjab Preservation of Subsoil
Water Act in 2009 (Balwinder-Singh et al. 2019). To address the problem, the state and the central governments introduced both in-situ and ex-situ management practices, such as the provision of new andsubsidized machinery for crop residue management and alternative use of straw as bio-fuel energy(Shyamsundar et al. 2019). However, despite these measures, no effective solution has yet beenachieved. According to a recent report by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), cases of stubble
burning in Punjab from satellite observations were higher in autumn of 2020 than in the previous three
years (51,703 in 2018, 52,790 in 2019, and 76,590 in 2020; The Tribune 2020, November 28).
Meanwhile, the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the subsequent nationwide lockdown (March 25-May 31, 2020) had various effects on agricultural practices, notably ricetransplanting during the kharif season (rainy season during June to September). More than 95% of
rice-growing regions in India are dependent on manual labour for crop establishment, and therefore, theserious labour shortages caused by the COVID-19 lockdown, which triggered mass reverse migrationfrom the northwestern states of Haryana and Punjab (Balwinder-Singh et al. 2020), had a significant
effect across much of Northern India (The Tribune 2020, May 5; Vatta et al. 2021). In addition, newfarming laws implemented in September 2020 resulted in further tensions and subsequent protests.
These laws, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill (2020), theFarmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill (2020),

1

Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown

and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill (2020), allowed private firms to direct trade with local
farmers, potentially undermining the existing Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime in Punjab (The
Tribune 2020, September 22). The resulting protests against the central government continued for morethan a year, ending in November 2021.There was considerable reluctance to cooperate with the stubble
burning initiatives during that time.
Many previous studies and the PPCB have used satellite observations to identify regions of stubble
burning; however, the limitations of satellite data have been previously reported (Liu et al 2020). For
example, in Punjab, these observations are carried out for only a few hours per day (twice daily), andlocal farmers tend to carry out their burning practices by avoiding the time of satellite observations. In
this region, satellite data is limited, and the lack of accurate information on the location and degree ofburning hinder the implementation of effective control measures.
Another limitation is that despite understanding the adverse effects of stubble burning, individual
farmers are often reluctant to reveal their own practices due to a fear of government penalties. Local
governments implement fines of Rs 2,500 for offending farmers with up to two acres, Rs 5,000 for thosewith between two and five acres, and Rs 15,000 for those with more than five acres (The Tribune 2019,
October 29). As a result, obtaining reliable information from individual farmers is difficult, further hindering any detailed understanding of the geographical locations and extent of stubble burning.
In this study, we conducted a village-level questionnaire survey of crop residue management in 129
villages across the state of Punjab to examine the current status of stubble burning. Regional characteristics of stubble burning across the state were determined, as well as the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the resulting agricultural practices in 2020.

Methodology and the Study area

The questionnaire survey was completed from January to February of 2021, by the Centers forInternational Projects Trust (CIPT), a New Delhi-based NPO. The survey data was obtained from village
representatives conversant in local agricultural practices, agricultural extension officials, and thePrimary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACSs). The questionnaire explored village-level information on rice cultivation during the kharif season, and wheat and potato cultivation during the rabi seasonof 2019/20 and 2020/21.
The survey covered a total of 129 study villages across 12 districts in Punjab (48 in Amritsar; 47 inLudhiana; 19 in Moga; 3 in Gurdaspur; 2 each in Bathinda, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, and Muktsar; and 1
each in Barnala, Faridkot, Mansa, and SBS Nagar). However, as the survey was conducted within alimited period of only two months, we could not ensure even distribution of the study villages and thesewere mainly concentrated in the districts of Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Moga, with a few in the north- andsouth-western districts.
The characteristics of the 129 villages were compared with the 2011 Census data as shown in Table
1. The average geographical area of the study villages was 1,682 acres (state average: 981 acres), withan average of 431 households (state average: 267 households), and an average population of 2,248 individuals (state average: 1,379 individuals). The average cultivation area per farming household was 7.0
acres (state average: 8.9 acres), and the average ratio of cultivator to total worker was 36.1% (state average 32.4%), and that of agricultural labourers to total workers was 21.3% (state average: 21.2%). In
summary, the study villages were larger in size, with more population and number of households compared with the state average, although the average farm size was smaller.

2

Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown

Table 1. Characteristics of the study villages
Geographical area
below 500 acres
500–1000 acres
1000–2000 acres
2000–3000 acres
3000 acres or above
Average: 1682 acres

No. of villages
21
30
30
11
21

Village population
below 1000
1000–2000
2000–3000
3000–4000
4000–5000
5000 or above
Average: 2248 individuals

No. of villages
34
39
18
19
9
10

No. of Households (HH)
below 100
100–200
200–300
300–400
400–500
500–750
750–1000
1000 or above
Average: 431 HH

No. of villages
16
22
22
15
12
22
10
10

Area under rice cultivation

Cultivation area per Farm HH
below 2.0 acres
2.0–4.0 acres
4.0–6.0 acres
6.0–8.0 acres
8.0–10.0 acres
10.0 acres or above
Average: 7.0 acres/ HH

No. of villages
4
25
35
25
14
26

Cultivator/Total worker
below 20 %20–40 %
40–60 %
60 % or above
Average: 36.1 %No. of villages
16
64
41
8

Agricultural Labour/Total worker No. of villages
72
below 20 %43
20–40 %
13
40–60 %
1
60 % or above
Average: 21.3 %Results and Discussion

The cultivation area of rice is not uniform across the state. In general, two types of rice are grownin Punjab: basmati and non-basmati varieties (paddy varieties). Basmati varieties, which have superior
cooking and eating characteristics, are produced in areas with a relatively cooler temperature, eventhough rice crops tend to be better suited to regions with a high temperature and high humidity (Mahal
and Kaur 2021). Within Punjab, basmati is generally grown in more northern regions (Majha), while
non-basmati varieties are grown in central and southern regions (Malwa) (Figure 1). However, basmati
is also grown in some villages in the southwest. In line with this, the extent and geographical pattern of
stubble burning across the state may be related to differences in growth characteristics between basmati
and non-basmati rice, such as growth duration and plant height.

Changes in agricultural practices from 2019 to 2020

The details of changes in agricultural practices that took place in the 129 study villages from 2019
to 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown are shown in Table 2. These changes were especiallynotable during the kharif season. The area under paddy cultivation increased in 53% villages, with anaverage increase of 40.9 acres. Meanwhile, the area under basmati cultivation increased only in 15%
villages, which might be due to assured procurement of paddy by the government and farmers tended toreduce their marketing risk during the pandemic period. Due to the sudden lockdown during the firstwave of COVID-19 in India, many migrant workers returned to their homes, resulting in significant labour shortages in farming villages across Punjab (The Tribune 2020, May 5). As a result, farmers were3

Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown

Paddy

Basmati

5,000 acres

3,000 acres

1,000 acres

Figure 1. Location and acreage of paddy (non-basmati) and basmati rice cultivation in 2019
Table 2. Changes in agricultural practices from 2019 to 2020
ChangeIncrease in paddy cultivation
Increase in basmati cultivation% of villages
53.1
14.8

Average+40.9 acres−48.5 acres

Increase in transplanting
Increase in direct seeding
Increase in use of rice planter

47.7
55.5
25.0

−25.3 acres+33.2 acres+41.9 acres

Earlier transplanting of paddy rice
Earlier completion of paddy transplanting
Earlier harvest of paddy rice
Earlier end of paddy harvest

76.6
30.5
35.2
15.6

−2.8 days+0.4 days−0.3 days+0.7 days

Increase in the interval between kharif andrabi crops

49.1+0.4 days

forced to consider alternative methods of rice planting. They had two main options: direct seeding of rice(DSR) or adoption of mechanical transplantation of paddy. Based on the findings of the survey, the areawith transplanted rice declined in 52% villages, while that of DSR increased in 56% villages, suggestingthat some farmers chose to give up transplanting in favour of DSR. This was particularly apparent in thevillages near Moga and Ludhiana (Figure 2), reflecting the extreme labour shortages in areas close tolarge cities. Meanwhile, the use of rice planters increased in 25% villages in 2020, which is noteworthy
because their use in the study villages was very limited prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, thosevillages near Moga and Ludhiana showed a notable increase in mechanical transplantation of rice4Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown(acres)-501 - 0
0 - 0
0 - 10
10 - 50
50 -1090

Figure 2. Changes in the acreage of direct seeding from 2019 to 2020
(Figure 3).
The labour shortages resulting from the COVID-19 lockdown also affected the transplanting dateof paddy rice in 2020. In order to prevent a further decline in groundwater levels, as the Punjab
Preservation of Subsoil Water Act was enacted in 2009, banning transplantation of paddy rice before
June 15 (this was later revised to June 20 in 2018). However, in 2020, the lack of labour meant that thefarmers would be unable to complete transplantation within this short time-frame. The state government
therefore advanced the transplanting date by 10 days, to June 10 (The Tribune 2020, May 10).
In Punjab, the transplanting of paddy rice generally occurs earlier in the north than the south. In
2019, transplanting started on June 23 in the villages around Amritsar and on July 4 in the villagesaround Ludhiana, a difference of around 10 days. In contrast, transplanting occurred earlier in 2020 in
77% villages, except those near Ludhiana, where transplanting occurred later (Figure 4). Again, thesefindings reflect the labour shortages caused by the COVID-19 lockdown.
Meanwhile, the date of harvest also tends to be earlier in northern Punjab than in southern Punjab.
In 2019, harvest started on October 16 in the villages around Amritsar and on November 6 in thosearound Ludhiana, a difference of around 20 days. However, compared with transplanting, in 2020 thedate of harvest occurred earlier in only 35% of the villages, and in many villages, it remained unchanged.
These findings suggest that in many villages, the cultivation period was therefore longer in 2020.
Meanwhile, in the villages near Moga, the harvest date was later than in the previous year (Figure 5).
The interval between the harvest of kharif crops and sowing of rabi crops has an important effecton stubble burning. If the interval is short, farmers tend to carry out burning because there is insufficient
time for straw management, whereas if the interval is longer, other methods of straw management would
be possible. In 2019, the interval was longer in the north than in the central regions, at 38 days in the5Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown(acres)0 - 5050 - 100
100 - 200
200 - 500
500 -1000

Figure 3. Changes in the acreage of rice planted with rice planters from 2019 to 2020

(days)-18 - -9
-9 - -3-3 - 00 - 3
3 - 9
9 - 15Figure 4. Changes in the transplanting date of paddy rice from 2019 to 20206

Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown(days)-19 - -12
-12 - -5
-5 0
0 9
9 - 1616 - 23

Figure 5. Changes in the harvest date of paddy rice from 2019 to 2020
villages around Amritsar and 3 days in those near Ludhiana. Meanwhile, in 2020, no clear trends wereobserved compared with the previous year (Figure 6); however, the interval was very short in the villages near Ludhiana.

Changes in burning area and agricultural practices

Figure 7 shows the area of burning, partial burning, and no burning after the kharif harvest in 2019and 2020, calculated from the results of the questionnaire survey. The area of burning and partial burning
was larger in the villages in the southern and central regions in both 2019 and 2020, while the area of noburning was relatively large in villages in the north. These regional differences in burning area arethought to be due to differences in the choice of rice varieties. In the north, where more basmati rice isgrown, the harvest season is earlier and is often carried out manually, so long stubbles are not left in thefields after cutting close to the ground, resulting in less burning. Meanwhile, in more central and southern regions where non-basmati rice is favoured, the harvest season is later and tends to involve a combine harvester, so there is less time for crop residue management, and burning is often the only option.
A comparison between 2019 and 2020 revealed an increase in burning in villages near Moga, andan increase in partial burning in villages near Ludhiana and Amritsar. These findings are thought to berelated to the labour shortages resulting from the COVID-19 lockdown.
The details of the relationship between burning area and changes in agricultural practices in 2020are shown in Table 3. The 119 study villages were classified into three groups according to the changes
in burning and partial burning from 2019 to 2020. A total of 31 villages showed an increase in burning
area in 2020, 26 showed no change, and 62 showed a decrease. The area of stubble burning in the study
villages decreased in 2020, in contrast with the overall increase across the entire state estimated from7

Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown(days)-26 - -16
-16 - -6
-6 - 00 - 1212 - 22
22 - 31

Figure 6. Changes in the interval between the kharif and rabi seasons from 2019 to 2020(a)Burning(b)
No burning
Partiallyburning

5,000 acres

3,000 acres

1,000 acres

Figure 7. Areas of burning after the kharif harvest in (a) 2019 and (b) 2020
satellite observations (The Tribune 2020, November 28). In the 62 villages which showed a decrease inburning, the area under paddy cultivation and the area of transplanting were less, while the area of DSR
and mechanical transplantation of rice were more. The mean planting date was later (average: June 24),
but the mean harvest date was earlier (average: October 24) compared with the other villages. The inter-8

Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown

Table 3. Relationship between the burning area and changes in agricultural practices in 2020
Area of burning and partial burning
Decrease No change
Increase(N=62)(N=26)(N=31)
1601
870
1473
556
351
469
249
162
230

Number of households
Number of farming households
Area under cultivation (acres)
Area under paddy cultivation (acres)
Paddy area per farming household (acres)
Area of transplanting (acres)
Area of direct seeding (acres)
Area of rice planter use (acres)

1069
2.28
979
50
46

389
1.11
365
22
2

1220
2.20
1090
47
42

Mean transplanting date of paddy rice (days)
Mean harvesting date of paddy rice (days)

175
297

173
292

171
300

Interval between kharif and rabi crops (days)

20

33

13

Note: N means the number of villages in each category.

val between the kharif and rabi seasons was longer (average: 20 days).
The correlation between the kharif–rabi interval and burning area in 2020 was negative, but thecoefficient of determination was very low (Figure 8). Though the coefficient of determination is small,the slope is negative, indicating less burning for longer interval period. Notably, when the planting interval was less than 17 days, the burning area became very large in some villages. The relationship between
the harvest date of kharif crops and burning area was also examined (Figure 9), revealing an increase inburning area when the harvest date was between October 22 and November 11 (around 295–315 DOY(days from January 1)). In villages in central and western districts such as Moga and Muktsar, the harvesting period was the first week of November, and more crop residue was burnt. Meanwhile, in villages in which the harvest date was earlier than the third week of October or later than the second week ofNovember, less burning was carried out.

(acre)“Planting interval” on the x-axis and“Burning and partial burning area” on the y-axis

7000
y = -16.34x + 1229.7
R² = 0.0485
6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
-10

0

10

20

30

40

50
(days)

Figure 8. Relationship of the interval between kharif and rabi seasons with the burning area in 20209

Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown(acre)
7000“Harvest date” on the x-axis and“Burning and partial burning area” on the y-axis

6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
270

280

290

300

310

320

330

340
(DOY)

Figure 9. Relationship between the harvest date and burning area in 2020
Note: DOY is days of the year, which shows the sequential day number from January 1.

Burning area based on fire detection counts and fire radiative power

Satellite-based datasets of fire detection counts (FDC) and fire radiative power (FRP) were obtained
from the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) website provided by National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Those data were observed by the satellite sensors:
MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard EOS-Aqua, and Visible Infrared
Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the Suomi NPP and NOAA-20. The spatial resolutions of
MODIS and VIIRS are 1 km and 375 m, respectively. Those satellite data are often used in academic
studies, and also by local governments to monitor fire events, although they are known to be underestimated (Liu et al. 2020), because of limited observation time and cloud cover. Therefore, these datasetsshould be interpreted by combining with ground-based data to improve reliability. In this study, theburning area of the 129 villages obtained from the questionnaire survey were compared with the total
FDC and FRP data over the corresponding areas. The Pearson’s correlations coefficients between FDC
and FRP data obtained from different satellites (MODIS Aqua, VIIRS NOAA, and VIIRS SNPP) and theburning area determined in 2019 and 2020 are shown in Table 4. In 2020, for both of the FDC and FRP,
the correlation coefficients between the burning areas and the VIIRS data are higher than those with

Table 4. P earson’s correlations coefficients between the burning area determined in the questionnaire
survey and FDC/FRP data obtained with different satellites
Satellite
FDC
MODIS Aqua
VIIRS NOAAVIIRS SNPP
FRP
MODIS Aqua
VIIRS NOAAVIIRS SNPP

Burning area
2019
2020
0.62
−
0.60

0.61
0.67
0.74

0.46
−
0.54

0.46
0.61
0.70

Note: Burning areas include areas of partial burning.

10Regional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown(a)(count)80“Burning and partial burning area”in thex-axis, and“FDC”in the y-axis“Burning and partial burning area”in thex-axis, and“FRP (MW)”in the y-axis

(b)
(MW)
700

y = 0.0108x - 0.635
R² = 0.7351

70

11

y = 0.0856x - 13.979
R² = 0.7045
600

60

500

50
400
40
300
30
200

20

100

10
0

0
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000
(acre)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000
(acre)

Figure 10. Correlation between the burning area determined in the questionnaire survey and (a) FDC
and (b) FRP data obtained using the VIRS SNPP satellite in 2020
Note: MW is megawatt.

MODIS, possibly because of higher spatial resolution. As shown here, the burning areas obtained fromquestionnaire survey and satellite-based fire data showed good consistency (Figure 10), suggesting reliability of the data in this study.

Summary

In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted in 129 villages across 12 districts in Punjab todetermine the regional characteristics of stubble burning and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown in
2020. The following findings were revealed:
1. Regional differences, especially north–south differences in agricultural practices, were notablewithin Punjab, probably due to differences in the choice of rice varieties cultivated based on local
climatic conditions.
2. Stubble burning was more prevalent in villages in central regions around Moga, where paddy ricetends to be harvested in the 1st week of November.
3. The interval between the paddy rice harvest and rabi sowing was also shorter in central regions,which led to increases in stubble burning.
4. Direct seeding of rice and use of rice planters increased in villages near Ludhiana and Moga
during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, probably due to acute labour shortages.
5. The date of transplanting of paddy rice was earlier, but the harvest date remained unchanged or
was later in many villages in 2020. As a result, the interval between the kharif and rabi crops
remained the same or was shorter, resulting in an increase in stubble burning in some villages.
6. The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on stubble burning was negligible, except in villages
near large cities where labour shortages were particularly apparent.
The above results suggest that the village-level questionnaire survey was effective in identifying
the location and extent of stubble burning in Punjab. However, despite these findings, this study had
limitations resulting from the non-uniform distribution of study villages across the state. Therefore, asecond questionnaire survey is planned for 300 villages (2 villages per 150 blocks within the state) inRegional characteristics of stubble burning in Punjab, India and the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown

2022. The results will again be compared with satellite data in order to confirm reliability, as well as withdata of socio-economic conditions in order to determine the effect of individual factors on stubble burning. The resulting data together with data on rice yield can then be used to improve inventories of PM2.5
emissions and help develop effective control measures for air pollution resulting from stubble burning.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the CIPT for performing data collection. We also thank Ms. Hikaru Araki
for providing us with FDC and FRP data.

Financial support

This research was supported by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN: a constituent member of NIHU) under Project No. 14200133 Aakash.

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The Tribune. (2019, October 29). 14 Moga farmers penalised for stubble-burning.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/punjab/14-moga-farmers-penalised-for-stubbleburning-853620
The Tribune. (2020, May 5). Punjab stares at crisis, 8.3 lakh migrants prepare to leave.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-stares-at-crisis-8-3-lakh-migrants-prepare-toleave-80488
The Tribune. (2020, May 10). Paddy sowing advanced by 10 days.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/paddy-sowing-advanced-by-10-days-82754
The Tribune. (2020, September 22). Decoding farm bills provisions & apprehensions.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/decoding-farm-bills-provisions-apprehensions-144741
The Tribune. (2020, November 28). Punjab sees 25K more farm fires this year.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-sees-25k-more-farm-fires-this-year-176879

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