A major source of the smog at this time of year across northern India, including New Delhi, is farmers burning the stubble of the previous crop to prepare for new plantings in November. A spokesman of the federal environment ministry declined to comment on federal and state governments bickering over funds to tackle the problem of stubble burning. “We’ve tried our best to tackle the situation, but as policymakers, we’ve failed to address the main problem of stubble burning,” the government official said. It’s not a new problem – it happens each year after mid-October when farmers start harvesting summer crops in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana. Such harvesters are increasingly popular in the wealthy northern states, where farmer lobbies are also politically powerful.

Source: Pakistan Today November 16, 2017 09:45 UTC