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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   November 28, 2022 - Aerosols over India   
      
      Aerosols   
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      Widespread haze continued to cloud the skies over much of India   
      throughout November 2022. On November 25, The Moderate Resolution   
      Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a   
      true-color gray skies stretching across the Indo-Gangetic Plain and   
      also from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal in southern India.   
      
      In India, November is the month when farmers typically burn excess   
      paddy straw after rice harvest—a practice called stubble burning. This   
      practice contributes greatly to the fine particulates or tiny droplets   
      (aerosols) that create haze. Burning usually starts in early November   
      and continues for three to four weeks. Although fires are not visible   
      in this image, other satellite views confirm that many fires consistent   
      with stubble burning were active in northwestern India as well as in   
      the eastern and central sections of the country when this image was   
      acquired.   
      
      Many farmers, particularly in the states of Punjab and Haryana, use   
      fire as a fast, cheap way to clean up and fertilize fields before   
      planting winter crops. However, a surge of smoke in the heart of the   
      densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plain often contributes to a sharp   
      deterioration of air quality across the region, including in the   
      capital city of Delhi.   
      
      The air quality index rose (US AQI) in Pooth Khurd, Bawana, Delhi   
      registered at 422 on November 27, 2022, according to the IQ Air   
      website, which placed conditions as “hazardous” on this website’s   
      scale. Earlier in the month, on November 1, the air quality index rose   
      as high as 422, according to the India’s Central Pollution Control   
      Board, enough to put it into the “severe” category. The high pollution   
      levels on November 1 prompted a halt in construction in Delhi and calls   
      for people to work from home.   
      
      Smoke from crop fires is not the only contributor to the hazy skies in   
      the region. Dust from northwestern India’s Thar Desert or from the vast   
      sand seas located on the Arabian Peninsula frequently sometimes are   
      blown aloft and across parts of India, contributing to aerosol   
      pollution. An array of other human-caused sources of air pollution come   
      from cities, including motor vehicle fumes, industrial and construction   
      activity, fireworks, and fires for heating and cooking.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Aqua   
      Date Acquired: 11/25/2022   
      Resolutions:  1km ( B),  500m (7.6 MB),  250m (2.5 MB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-11-28   
       
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