Burning stubble blaming Diwali - The NCR pollution mayhem.

Every year arou Diwali the farmers start burning stubble in their field starting around two three days to a week before diwali. 

The Diwali night raises the pollution temporary but the remaining stubble are burnt around Diwali and the next day onward upto a week or two later.

End result - a thick smoke travels all the way to NCR when wind blows eastwards and towards Lahore when the winds blow west causing thick smog in the early week of November in Delhi NCR, Lahore and both side blame it on Diwali whereas the satellite imagery and wind pattern analysis tells a different story.

I have the data from Lahore and Delhi both, Diwali ends in a day but the smog stays a week or more afterwards due to the stubble burnings. 

This year again the problem is evident and Diwali is being sighted as the reason whereas stubble burning in Pakistani punjab and Indian punjab are the real reason.

The following Heat signature image shows fires burning in punjab on 2nd November 2025 around 7 pm IST , the wind was blowing towards Delhi NCR, making it a possibility that 3rd november morning will be heavy smog morning in Delhi NCR, I.e , four to five hours from now.

following images shows the nights from of Diwali 20th october 2025 onwards , notice the amount of heat signatures increasing and peaking on 2nd november 2025. The heat signature and smog of 2nd november night are much much higher than 20th october 2025 night.

The following satellite image clearely shows where the smog originates in Pakistan but still the fake scientist in media will point at Diwali which took place ten days back.

Folloing is raw data of Smog reports for Delhi NCR and Lahore from 2022 to 2025:

| Year | City | Reported Smog Period/Date | Description & References |

|-------|-----------|---------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2022 | Delhi NCR | Nov 3-4, 2022 | Severe smog episodes, worst air-quality days recorded. Reference: ScienceDirect article on smog over Delhi-NCR [1] |

| 2022 | Lahore | October-November 2022 | Record-breaking smog with AQI up to 707, highest pollution globally in city. Ref: Pakistan Today report [2] |

| 2023 | Delhi NCR | Nov-Dec 2023 (longest smog spell) | Longest spell of 'very poor' or worse air quality in 6 years, with multiple smog episodes. CSE report and news [3] |

| 2023 | Lahore | Nov 2023 | Thick toxic smog causing illness, schools closed for days. Al Jazeera coverage [4] |

| 2024 | Delhi NCR | Dec 20, 2024 | Toxic smog with AQI hitting 434, severe category; major health risks reported. Business Standard [5] |

| 2024 | Lahore | October 27, 2024 | Hazardous smog with extremely high AQI values above 700; state of emergency declared. Dawn coverage [6][2] |

| 2025 | Delhi NCR | Late October–Nov 1, 2025 | Severe smog episodes, AQI > 370, widespread toxicity, GRAP responses activated. NDTV, India Today reports [7][8][9] |

| 2025 | Lahore | Late October 2025 | Toxic smog with AQI spiking near hazardous levels, authorities enforcing anti-burning measures; cross-border pollution from Diwali cited. Ref: Arab News, Pakistan Tribune [10][11] |

You can paste this directly into most web editors or forums that support markdown or simple HTML tables. Let me know if you want it formatted as HTML or any other format.

Citations:

[1] The prevailing smog conditions over the Delhi-NCR during ... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0273117723009742

[2] Record-breaking smog blankets Lahore, now world's most ... https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2024/10/27/record-breaking-smog-blankets-lahore-now-worlds-most-polluted-city/

[3] Improvement In Delhi's PM2.5 Levels Since 2015-17 ... https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/improvement-in-delhis-annual-pm2-5-levels-since-2015-17-halted-in-2023-says-cse-report-4799751

[4] Thick smog shuts down Pakistan's Lahore, sickens tens of thousands https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/9/thick-smog-shuts-down-pakistans-lahore-sickens-tens-of-thousands

[5] Delhi gasps for air: Toxic smog turns city into a hazard zone at 434 AQI https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/delhi-severe-air-quality-aqi-434-smog-health-risks-december-2024-124122100173_1.html

[6] Lahore touches unprecedented 707 at Air Quality Index https://www.dawn.com/news/1868070

[7] Delhi's Air Quality Nears 'Severe' Mark, Thick Smog Lowers Visibility https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/delhis-air-quality-nears-severe-mark-thick-smog-lowers-visibility-9559979

[8] Delhi Turns Gas Chamber: NCR Chokes on Toxic Smog, AQI in 'Severe' Zone - India Today https://www.indiatoday.in/india/video/delhi-turns-gas-chamber-ncr-chokes-on-toxic-smog-aqi-in-severe-zone-ytvd-2812067-2025-11-02

[9] Delhi NCR AQI | Delhi Chokes As AQI Continue To Deteriorate In ... https://www.ndtv.com/video/delhi-ncr-aqi-delhi-chokes-as-aqi-continue-to-deteriorate-in-ncr-as-winter-approaches-1016378

[10] Toxic smog continues to blanket Lahore, with air quality ... https://www.arabnews.com/node/2620319/pakistan

[11] Lahore tops global pollution rankings as AQI hits ... https://tribune.com.pk/story/2574755/lahore-tops-global-pollution-rankings-as-aqi-hits-hazardous-403

Hope this will help someone understand the truth behind the SMOG and Diwali narrative.

Of Smog, Odd Even and Delhi

Every year in the month of October and November Delhi NCR and areas surrounding Punjab experiences smog, or a fog which is majorly smoke.

The Delhi government has been trying various "Tricks" to contain and bring down the effect by introducing not so citizen friendly initiatives like Odd- Even , heavy fines on BS4 vehicles, reduction of diesel fuel vehicles validity etc.

All this while the only relevant question is forgotten, i.e., why the same amount of vehicles don't cause smog in even colder months ? A casual hint about stubble burning is tossed but nothing is done to legally stop it as much legality and cane dangling is done for the Diwali crackers.

Irrespective of the absence of concrete emidsion data it is a known fact that this phenomenon is caused by stubble burning as it directly contributes to smoke in the smog equation.

Last week while discussing the problem with an ex colleague I wondered how much of the smoke is actually generated and is there a way to actually determine the role it has on the smog issue.

This thought process took me to the Arial imagery but since not many people can discriminate between smoke and clouds in the satellite images, I decided to look for infra emission layers as they are very reliable markers of above average heat and fires.

To my amazement the resultant visualisation closely  followed the smog phenomenon, proving beyond doubt that the Odd-even restrictions are merely punishing the victim. The solution can't even start to formulate until the central government makes burning of stubble illegal since carbon emission is responsibllity of the country, thankfully no global environment agency has pointed a fingure at this yet.

Attached are the images with the high infra radiance layers (Shown as orange spots) drwan over  Delhi, Haryana and Punjab for 8th September 2023, 8th October 2023and 8th November 2023.

It is very clear that the amount of radiation closely follows the amount of smog and the air quality index.

Image : 8th September 2023

Image : 8th October 2023

image 8th November 2023, notice the smoke channel above Delhi.

Image 9th October 2023 evening.

Image : 2 November 2023

In light of these findings it's very clear that odd even can't solve this problem at all. It is upto the people of Delhi NCR, and the areas this phenomenon causes unbearable living conditions, to approach the government / legal system so that this indirect violence and torture is addressed for good.

#smog #Delhi #stubble #pollution