Farm Fire Data and Satellite Monitoring

The Indian government is working to improve the way it tracks and measures farm fires (specifically stubble burning) in states like Punjab and Haryana. This is because there are issues with the current satellite systems that are used to monitor these fires, and gaps in data collection have been identified.

Why the Problem Exists

• Farm Fire Data Issues:Satellites, particularly polar-orbiting satellites (like those used by NASA), are currently used to detect farm fires by capturing images of the Earth as they pass over the regions. However, these satellites can only capture data when they pass overhead, meaning they miss some fires happening in between these passes. This creates a problem called “undercounting bias,” where some farm fires are not being counted.
• Supreme Court’s Involvement: The issue of undercounting was brought to the attention of the Supreme Court of India.
  • The court was informed that data from NASA satellites might be missing some farm fires in Punjab and Haryana, which is important for understanding the extent of air pollution caused by these fires. The court then directed the Centre (Indian government) and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to use other satellites, including geostationary satellites, in addition to NASA's polar-orbiting ones.

Efforts to Improve the System

• To address this problem, government agencies like the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), and remote sensing centers from Punjab and Haryana have come together to develop a new methodology to better track farm fires.
  • These agencies are working on a pilot project to test and improve the system during this Kharif season (the season when rice is harvested,
• The agencies are now using the Sentinel-2 satellite from Europe, which has a better resolution of 20 meters and passes over the region every 5 days.
  • This satellite provides images in multiple wavelengths (optical, near-infrared, and short-wave infrared), which helps detect burned areas more accurately.

Challenges with Satellites:

• Thermal Imaging Satellites: While these satellites are good at detecting heat (and therefore fires), even those with fine resolution cannot capture every single fire. They only detect fires when the satellite is overhead, meaning some fires will still be missed.
• Impact of Smog: The presence of smog or smoke in the air can also make it harder for satellites to detect fires accurately.
• Geostationary Satellites (Like GEO-KOMPSAT 2A): Another important satellite, the GEO-KOMPSAT 2A (a Korean satellite), can pick up farm fires that happen after the NASA satellite has passed. However, the scientists pointed out that geostationary satellites have lower resolution and are not as sensitive to small fires, which may still limit their effectiveness in detecting all farm fires.