STUBBLE BURNING
Context:

A study was conducted recently in six villages of Patiala, Punjab on Stubble Burning and its impacts on health.

What is stubble burning?

It is a common practice followed by farmers to prepare fields for sowing of wheat in November as there is little time left between the harvesting of paddy and sowing of wheat.

Impact: Stubble burning results in the emission of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide along with particulate matter.

Key findings of the study:

Pollution from stubble burning significantly reduced lung function and was particularly harmful to rural women.
The concentrations of PM2.5, the category of unburnt carbon particles considered most harmful to respiratory health, were found to increase more than twice between the two phases, from 100 g/m3 to 250 g/m3.
During the crop residue burning period, a two to three-fold increase was noted in most of the respiratory symptoms including wheezing, breathlessness on exertion, cough in the morning, cough at night, skin rashes, runny nose or itchiness of eyes, etc. across all age groups (10-60 years).
The highest number of respiratory complaints were reported by the elderly population (>40-60) and the lowest in the younger age group(>10-18) during the crop burning period.
There was a decline in lung function with an increase in PM2.5 concentration across all age groups even after controlling for several other exposure variables, such as the influence of cooking fuel, ventilation, distance from the road, etc.